


And Those Who Slept

by Bounemr



Series: Seeking Miracles [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: American Miraculous, Expanded Universe, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-08
Updated: 2017-07-22
Packaged: 2018-10-16 06:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 23,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10565244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bounemr/pseuds/Bounemr
Summary: "And Those Who Slept" is the story of the keeper of the Polar Bear Miraculous. Though he was the only known active Miraculous keeper in America, he was far from the only one capable of magic. When a new Miraculous surfaces, he delves deeper into what it means to be a keeper, and the Miraculous' place in the world of witches, werebeasts, spirits, and demons, all with a rookie to keep an eye on along the way.





	1. The Otter

**Author's Note:**

> Was anyone interested in Texan Miraculous keepers and an ML expanded universe? Because that's what's happening. Everything in Paris is happening, and everything in the show is canon, up until the end of season 1, where we're at irl at the start of this fic.

Carter didn’t think it was really his place to comment on the lives of succubi. For the most part, they were harmless. Most, as with most intelligent beings, didn’t actually have any malevolent intent and just wanted to go about their lives in peace. Still, there were complications.

A lot of demons, for example, didn’t understand the limits of what a human could take. Some erred on the side of caution, and often Carter never had to involve himself with them beyond a few words, but others… Carter was sometimes forced to step in and explain things to them that no one else was qualified to explain.

Not that he was particularly qualified to explain it, but a year with his Miraculous had taught him a lot, and the Miraculous’ attributes meant he was uniquely qualified to mediate between humans and magical beings. The special thing about him was that he had a foot in both the human and magical worlds. Unlike witches and weres, who could pass as non-magical, Carter actually _was_ an ordinary human. He belonged in that community. But with his Miraculous, he gained access to an entirely different and underground layer of his city.

Many folks in the magical community still didn’t accept him. He understood. He’d never really know what it’s like to live underground and not be able to just turn off his magic.

So he tried not to make judgement calls. It kept him rational and kept his image in the magical community safe. That was why, when he snuck into the succubus’ apartment, careful not to wake her sleeping boyfriend, she only looked at him with worry on her face.

Working under the cover of night was hand-in-hand with being part of the magical community. As such, they had seen and used all sorts of ways to find each other in the dead of night. That he was sneaking through her window was, quite frankly, almost less surprising to her than that he was there at all. Still, he thanked the powers that be that she only held a finger to her lips, gesturing to her prone boyfriend, and slipped out of bed to lead him to a room where they could talk.

It was always sad, he thought, when he met a succubus or incubus who desperately wanted to be monogamous. It wasn’t that they were not capable of it, it was that they largely fed off of human sexual desire. For a succubus to be healthy, she needed – not necessarily sex, not for most kinds of succubi, anyway, but she needed a lot of people to _want_ to have sex with her. And she needed to be in close proximity to those people.

For a healthy, monogamous, human-‘cubi relationship to work, the ‘cubi needs some sort of outlet where they can get that. Often that means going to a club or remaining flirtatious to other people, and often that leads to jealousy on the human’s part.

If the ‘cubi tried to stop that, then either they would starve themselves or they would drain their partner, often unintentionally to death. It was a tough situation all around, which is why most ‘cubi had open relationships or never got into romantic relationships at all.

Carter sat down with her, accepted a cup of tea, and calmly explained to her that if she continued at the rate she was, she’d hurt her partner. The succubus was devastated, and asked hesitantly what she could do. He explained to her that the best thing she could do was ensure he was healthy – diet and exercise did a lot for a human’s lasting power with ‘cubi (Luckily in this case the human seemed to be fit, he probably worked out on his own) – and try to get what she could from people outside their relationship. She had to be opportunistic.

She apologized and stressed that she had no intention of hurting her partner. Carter assured her that he knew, and that a lot of succubi had the same problem. He also reiterated that she shouldn’t let herself starve, and that if she took what little she could from the guys whistling at her in the streets, or her creepy coworkers, she _could_ make the relationship work and keep both of them healthy. That those guys existed was unfortunate, but she could exploit them if she could handle them. He also recommended that she go out every once in a while. If she went to parties, even with her boyfriend, it was exceedingly likely that she’d have a veritable feast and she wouldn’t even have to be unfaithful since the nature of parties meant everyone was relatively close by.

She thanked him and promised to be careful and Carter left out the front door. By his standard, he would visit her again in a few weeks, enough time for her partner to show signs of improvement if she kept her word and enough time for her to show signs of starvation if she was _too_ careful. But at the moment, he had done all he could.

So, job complete, he stole through the night back to his own home.

 

* * *

 

Having a secret identity was a concept Carter had juggled with after he had gotten his Miraculous. His public image with the magical community was strained at best – great on a personal level, he was close friends with many of the magical beings he had helped before, but strained in the broader picture. Most “official” institutions refused to acknowledge him as part of the community, but even with them there were overtures of civility. The only major organization that supported his niche was the werebeasts, and Carter was pretty sure that was because the weres had a somewhat unique organizational structure.

The more personal level bubbled up with them, and they heard about him keeping a pup out of trouble or taking a homeless were to breakfast after a full moon. And though everyone else obviously heard about him, they were a lot less willing to lend too much credit to handfuls of scattered testimonies.

Unfortunately, the werebeasts were also somewhat looked down upon by the larger community, so their support didn’t actually mean much.

It stressed him out, sometimes. Not knowing whether the next witch or ‘cubi he meets will be overtly hostile or friendly. But he considered himself lucky. He had a whole year to learn and a mentor who was always there when he needed her. And he found that keeping his magical activities hidden only from non-magical people worked out for the best for him.

“Carter, I found a lead on a new Miraculous.”

Carter whipped his head around, an audible gasp touching his lips before he stilled, bit his tongue, and furrowed his brow. “What do you know?”

His mentor was an elegant, proper woman lost to time. The deep furrows in her brown skin revealed more than just weathering by the ages and indeed, despite her being as old as she seemed, the sparkle in her eye could convince someone who did not know her of an inner youth.

Carter knew better than to assume anything like that, though. For though she shone like a woman in her prime, she also commanded a dignified experience that only someone of her age could achieve, and she was as proud of that as she was of him.

She smiled at him. “Only rumors, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to follow up on them.”

“But you usually search for the Miraculous.”

The look this time was a sad one gilded in pride. “Oh, Carter. I am becoming too old for this kind of adventure. And you’re ready. I know it.”

“I…” Carter worried his lip. “I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask. The Miraculous, as I heard it, was found in the river.”

Carter made a face. “The San Antonio river?”

“Do you know another?”

“No, it’s just that… it’s kind of…”

“Polluted.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’ll only have to swim in it.”

“…This is why you’re making me do it, isn’t it?”

His mentor’s amused chortle made him smile, despite what he had to look forward to. “Not at all, Carter. Do you think I haven’t experienced worse?”

“Suddenly, I’m a lot less excited to be searching for the Miraculous.”

“Oh, shush, child. As I was saying. It was found in the river, so you’ll need to go and find it.”

“You do realize that I can’t search the entire San Antonio river.”

“Of course I know that. If you’d listen for once, I’ll tell you where to look.” She shook her head. “I’ll go with you and stay nearby. I want this to be your mission, but since it’s your first time with something like this, I’ll keep watch. What you need to do, then, is dive into the river from somewhere near the mall. It was found there, but it was probably found by a naiad by now, or washed downstream, so you’ll need to follow the trail.”

“Great. So basically, it’s going to be just around the riverbend.”

“Did I ask?”

Carter snickered, seeing in her eyes that she appreciated his comment. “Sorry.”

“I understand you know the naiad at the mall?”

“Yeah, we had brunch once.”

“She might be able to assist you.”

“I was just thinking that.”

His mentor chucked. “Good. We can start the search immediately, if your schedule works.”

“I have some homework due tomorrow, but I’ll manage.”

She nodded. “Good.”

She drove him downtown to the mall. Together, they made their way through the crowds to the Riverwalk, where Carter got a view of the brown water from close up. He was just making a face at it when someone tackled him from the side. His reflexes caught him before his mind did, and he found himself wrapped in the arms of a young woman, appearing his own age. “Woah. Hey there, Annie.”

“Carter! It’s been so long! Why don’t you ever come visit?”

Carter chuckled wearily. “It’s a big city, Annie, and even with the Miraculous it can take a long time to get over here.”

She sighed dramatically. “Oh, alright. I’ll forgive you. But, uh, you didn’t come just to have brunch this time, did you?”

He smiled sheepishly. “No, actually. I had heard that a Miraculous was found here. I wondered if you knew anything about it.”

Annie rolled her eyes. “Do I know anything about it.” She mocked. “Come on, Carter. As if I don’t know what’s coming through my own river. I am a little surprised though. I sensed the magic, but are you sure it’s a Miraculous?”

“You know about it, then? Good. Any chance of us recovering it?” He glanced back at his mentor, who watched him with smiling eyes and stoic lips. “And, uh, it was only a rumor. If my mentor says so, though, it’s worth following up on, I think.”

Annie looked past him, as if noticing the woman for the first time. She smiled gently and shook her head. “I think you’ve got your hands full, Carter.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, because when it first drifted into my part of the river, you know I sensed it. Well, I knew it had to be important, so I tried to catch it.”

“But?”

“It bit me.”

Carter tried to say something, but everything he thought of sounded stupid in his head and dies in his throat. “What? Isn’t it a… rock?”

“Of course it’s a rock. If it’s a Miraculous, that would explain it. I’ve never met a kwami, especially a dormant one, who bites, though. It didn’t even occur to me that that’s what it might be.” She shook her head roughly. “But you need it. You guys collect them, right?”

“Better to keep them out of the hands of the undeserving.”

“I get it. It’s too bad that only humans can activate them. Otherwise you might not have to worry so much.”

“Or we’d have to worry more. Annie, if people who actually knew about them could exploit them…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. I’ll get you your Miraculous.” She looked over her shoulder and cradled her finger. “On second thought, I’d rather it not bite me again. This is your job, you can get it.”

Carter sighed. _A dip in the river it is, then._ “Can you lead me to it?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. Come on.” She took his hand and guided him along the Riverwalk, chattering all the way. “You should probably transform before diving in. The water isn’t _that_ bad, but it should keep you mostly dry. And the suit should keep you safe, especially your eyes, you need to see, after all.” Carter stuck his free hand in his pocket, petting the kwami that resided there idly. “And your kwami is a polar bear, right? You should be good on air. I know places you can surface to breathe where the humans won’t see you. We shouldn’t have to stay in the water long, I know that isn’t pleasant for you. You know you should really help me clean this place up. I’m sure people will support a campaign to clean the river. Think about it?”

Carter looked over the water, wondering what he was even supposed to be looking for. Annie could guide him to it, thankfully, otherwise this mission would be much more difficult. “Down here, come on.” She said, guiding him under a bridge. “You need to be quiet, but no one will see you from here. Ready?”

“Yeah.” Carter tapped his pocket lightly. “Arrel, transform me.” With his back pressed against the wall, the familiar surge of magic overtook him. His clothes melted away into a snow-white body suit, and attached to his usual white domino mask, lenses covered his eyes.

“Hurry, no one’s looking.” Annie slipped into the water, not making a sound. But that was unfair, considering she melted into the water the moment she broke the surface. By contrast, when Carter slipped into the river, a splash echoed on the brick of the bridge above him. He flinched, but just took a huge breath and slipped under the surface before anyone could investigate.

Swimming in the San Antonio river was… unpleasant. It didn’t _feel_ bad, _per se_ , but with visibility so low coupled with knowing why the water was so murky led to the general feeling of him just needing a bath.

_Which I do. Or four._ Annie appeared in front of him and took his hand, shooting them both through the water at speeds impossible for him to reach on his own. After only a few seconds, Annie stopped to look back at him and gesture upwards. Carter surfaced as quietly as he could, took a single gasp of a breath, and rejoined Annie to continue on their way.

After only a few more stops, Annie pulled him deeper, close enough to see the muck at the bottom. _Maybe I should start a campaign to clean this place. Annie isn’t the only one living in these waters, either. But that’s something that we’d need human support for, and I don’t have the kind of influence to pull strings in organizations that can convince the humans to do anything._

Annie pointed out a grey rectangle resting on the river floor. _The Miraculous._ He dived closer to inspect it. _Pretty unremarkable, but then, most are._ He looked up at Annie. “What?” She said, her voice as clear in the water as on land, and producing no bubbles. “I’m not touching it. I told you. The thing bit me.”

Carter smirked and rolled his eyes, reaching down to pick it up. “Ow!” He exclaimed, quickly shutting his mouth equally in an effort to keep the river water out and to stop the bubbles that would tell anyone on the surface that someone was swimming there. The bite didn’t penetrate his suit, thankfully, but it did hurt. Like little needles stabbing his fingers. He growled, and took a firm hold of the Miraculous.

Some invisible force bit down hard on the outside of his hand, but he was prepared and didn’t let go. Carter gritted his teeth and nodded to Annie, who took his arm and started dragging him back upriver.

But the force, probably the kwami, didn’t relent. It shifted its grip, biting down again and again until eventually, the Miraculous in his fist began glowing.

Carter pulled back on Annie’s hand, causing her to slow them to a stop. The Miraculous itself began thrashing, pulling his fist in wild directions. Carter used his other hand to steady it, but it only grew more determined. _What the heck is going on with this thing? I’ve never heard of this before!_

He was proud to say, in the end, that a rock with a mind of its own did not overpower him. Not really. When the kwami, a large-headed mammalian sprite, appeared growling at him, he was too shocked to keep a proper hold on the thing. With a nip at his fingers, making him reel back in surprise, the kwami pried the Miraculous from his hand and shot straight up and out of the water.

_Oh, shit._

He gave Annie a wild, pleading look. “Don’t,” she warned. “Humans look out over the river here.”

_Well I can’t let it get away, can I?_

He started swimming for the surface.

“Carter! The kwami is awake! How is that possible?”

He shrugged, and continued his ascent. _It doesn’t make sense. The kwami shouldn’t be able to awaken if its keeper isn’t nearby. Annie can’t wield a Miraculous, and I already have one. So unless…_

_Oh, shit._ He broke the surface, scanning the wall as quickly as possible for any sign of the rogue kwami.

One pair of eyes, from just off the side of the river, stared back at him. He locked eyes with the boy, freezing in place. The boy furrowed his brow, opened his mouth, shut it, and held up a grey, rectangular stone.

Carter memorized the image. Brown hair, a confused, yet confident pose – probably faking, but impressive in light of the Miraculous flying to him and a boy in what can only be described as a superhero suit surfacing in the middle of the river – soft features, with evidence of lingering baby fat on his cheeks, sleek, black-framed glasses, tight khaki pants with a green tee shirt. Carter narrowed his eyes, held a finger to his lips, and looked purposefully to the regal, queenly woman calmly making her way down the Riverwalk.

The boy, he couldn’t be sure, but his mentor Carter knew understood the situation. She would stop him at least until Carter could find someplace to get out of the river.

He sunk back underneath the surface.

Annie understood the situation too. Or, she at least understood that his mission had moved above the surface of the water. She pulled him to the closest safe place and pushed him roughly onto dry land.

Carter had realized something rather important in that short time, though. _Isn’t he in my class? Shit._ Annie pulled herself out of the water after him, her clothes and hair totally dry.

He let his transformation fall, which returned him to his dry clothes, though his hair was still soaked through.

Annie took his arm, and together they sprinted towards where they had seen his classmate. _What was his name? God. Look closely tomorrow._

When they got there, they met only Carter’s smiling mentor. “Where is he?” Carter gasped, leaning on his knees as he panted. “I’m so sorry, the thing bit me and-”

“Shush, Carter. It’s okay.”

“It… it is?” Carter shared an incredulous look with Annie.

“It’s rare, but some kwami prefer to choose their own keepers. Some of the more… temperamental of them get upset if their Miraculous is even touched by someone not chosen. Sit. Listen.” Carter sat on a nearby bench with his mentor, giving her his full attention. He knew it was time for another lesson.

Annie joined him, listening raptly as well.

“The kwami you have found is the otter. Do you remember what I taught you about kwami symbolism?”

“Each kwami represents a force.” He repeated, recalling the many lectures he’d had on the subject. “Some of the more powerful ones represent things like creation or destruction, but most fall along the lines of patience,” He touched his Miraculous, a carved totem pendant around his neck, “or temperance, or fun.”

“And yours?”

“Patience. The kind that has its goal in sight but knows not to reach for it.”

“And recognizes when to move.” His mentor said. “Remember that part.”

“I’m not sure why we have to talk in metaphor about it.”

His mentor chuckled. “Think of it as tradition. It helps you understand, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose.”

“Anyway, the otter kwami represents liminality.”

Carter shared a look with Annie. “Liminality?”

Annie frowned. “That’s taking things a bit literal, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say that. The otter’s connection with liminal space is exactly why it was able to lash out at you while still dormant inside the Miraculous, and why it was able to manifest itself without the touch of its chosen. It was never truly asleep in the first place.”

Carter tried to wrap his brain around that. “So does that mean it’s not truly awake right now?” His mentor smiled and nodded encouragingly. “It’s living in an in-between state. Will it ever wake up?”

“It’s possible. It’s likely, even, if that young man accesses the otter’s powers. A connection to a human keeper would likely anchor it to this world and keep it at least mostly awake.”

Carter hummed and worried his lip. “How do you know this?”

“I’ve heard of many Miraculous we have not seen.”

“Yeah, that’s clear, but how?”

“I was taught. Just as I’ll teach you. Be patient.”

“Why did you let him keep it? And where did he go?”

Carter’s mentor smiled gently. “He had an appointment to keep. And this is not my assignment, little bear. It isn’t my place to take the Miraculous from him. I understand that you will see him soon enough.”

“He _is_ in my class, isn’t he?”

His mentor just chuckled and stood, leading the way back to where she had parked the car. “We should get you home. You still have homework to finish, after all.”

Carter followed suit, with Annie following at his heels. “When you say it’s not your assignment,” Annie asked, “you mean it’s still Carter’s? You still want him to recover it?”

“The assignment is not the recovery of the Miraculous, dear Annie. It never was.”

Carter bit his lip. “Right. The assignment is to make sure the Miraculous is safe. If it has a new keeper, I have to decide whether he’s fit for it.”

“That sounds… difficult.” Annie made a face. “Well, good luck with that. Don’t be a stranger, Carter. I’ll let you figure out what you’re doing from here on, but I’m here if you need me, okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks, Annie.”

 

* * *

 

At school the next day, Carter’s suspicions were confirmed. The boy with the otter Miraculous was sitting on the other side of his history class, and as the day continued, he saw that he shared two other classes with him, Anatomy and Physiology and Art.

Carter figured that art class would be his best bet, though he did sit in front of him in anatomy, so he didn’t rule it out. Not wanting to waste time, though, Carter introduced himself that very day in art class. He had gotten lucky. They were doing critiques that day, and the boy didn’t seem very talkative, meaning he was removed from the groups of friends that formed to give each other advice. It was about as perfect of an opportunity as he was going to get, and Carter wasn’t one to let something like that slip by.

He found himself at the boy’s desk almost before he thought about it. “Hey, want to partner up for the critique?”

“Huh? Oh, sure.” The boy mumbled, keeping his eyes trained studiously on his work – a beautiful color pencil piece – and stilled his progress on it. He pulled the critique sheet out from under a book, and switched for a pen to write with.

Without a word, he pushed his project toward Carter. _Strange. He seems so shy. Maybe that’s why I never really talked to him before. But he didn’t seem this bad yesterday. Maybe it’s school._ Carter handed the boy his own piece, also colored pencil, but on black paper and working almost exclusively with white. Carter liked monochromatic work. “Go easy on me, yeah?”

The boy grunted acknowledgement and started scribbling on the critique sheet. His eyes locked onto Carter’s artwork and scrutinized it so intensely that Carter was actually nervous about what he would say. With a shake of his head, he pulled his own gaze from the boy to the artwork in front of him.

“So, what’s your name?”

“Hmm? Oh, Avery. Graham. Here.” He pushed another piece of paper towards Carter, this one an assignment from another class, with his name written neatly at the top. _Avery Graham._ “Your name?”

Carter looked up at where Avery’s pen hovered over the line on the page. “Carter Wroden. W, R, O, den like an animal home. Yeah, you got it.”

Carter smiled at Avery’s focus, but decided not to push too much more. Not immediately, anyway, he didn’t want to be suspicious. He had to get the critique done or Avery would notice.

He worked idly, formulating his plan in tandem. _Easiest way to figure out if he’s worthy of a Miraculous would be to befriend him, though I do also have to be careful not to let affection influence my decision. Otherwise, it’s an easy thing. I just need to take every opportunity I can to talk to him. Start making us being partners normal when we get to choose, anyway. This was a good gateway, from here on it’s just “oh well, we partnered that one time in art so I was more comfortable asking you than a random stranger”._

With a devious smirk, Carter decided to be maybe a _little_ more complimentary than strictly necessary in his critique. He did, of course, point out what could be improved, but the things that were done well didn’t strictly call for quite so glowing praises. He considered it one step closer to getting Avery comfortable with him. _Or it’ll scare him off… nah, everyone likes compliments. It’s not like I’m complimenting_ him _. This is something he put a lot of effort into. No one would be scared off by that._

Critique finished, Carter handed the sheet and his artwork to Avery, receiving his own in return. “You know, I wish I could work with color like that. All my stuff is monochrome.”

Avery hummed quietly. “You have a lot of control, though. I can’t get the kind of details that you can.”

“Are you kidding? Your detail is amazing! You even have the reflections on the lock and everything, there. I couldn’t even imagine trying to draw metal here.”

“You didn’t do it during the observation exercise?”

“Well, I did, yeah, but not very well. I always miss stuff.”

“Your bear doesn’t look like it’s missing anything.”

Carter hummed, looking at the bear on his paper. “No, I suppose not. I’m kind of proud of this one, though. And there’s no ridiculous reflections going on.”

“You reflected the snow in its eye.”

Carter actually had to look closer to see that, but sure enough it was a detail he had included. The project was one he had been working on for a few weeks, and the eye was one of the first things he had done, so he had totally forgotten about that. “Oh. Well, would you look at that. Nothing compared to yours, though.”

Avery just hummed, picking a pencil and setting to work. Carter realized that not once in their conversation did Avery look at him directly. _Is he shaking?_ Carter observed his breathing, seeing his chest expand with deep, purposeful breaths even as his hands worked the page and his eyes remained focused on the art. _Calming breathing. Am I scaring him? Well, someone so nervous around strangers wouldn’t be a danger with a Miraculous. There is the chance that he could act somewhat irrationally because of it, though. Something to consider._

_Still, I can’t help but kind of like him. Maybe it’s just because he complimented my work._ He snickered softly, reading the critique. Like his own, the places for improvement were clearly laid out, and like his own, he thought that the praises were just a little beyond what was strictly necessary. _I think that’s just the way he writes, though._

Carter continued making short conversations, often cut shorter than they otherwise would have been by Avery giving a clipped or unhelpful response, but Carter didn’t mind it. He liked sitting in silence with Avery just fine. The only problem was that his purpose was to learn about the boy, and decide if he’d be a worthy keeper, so he had to keep asking questions.

He thought back to some of the “thirty questions to make two strangers fall in love” articles he’s read. _No intentions of love, but there are some pretty good questions for getting to know someone new._

“Hey, Avery, would you want to be famous?”

Avery stiffened. “No.”

“No? Really?”

“Nah. Well… I mean maybe, in a way.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I wouldn’t want to be famous like… people recognizing me. That would just stress me out.”

Carter chuckled. “I get it, dude. Who wants people asking for pictures when you’re just trying to go to the grocery store?”

Avery hummed softly, not offering any more.

“Okay, well, how about this one. If you could sit down to dinner with one person, anyone alive or dead or fictional if you’re so inclined, who would it be?”

Avery chuckled, rolling his eyes. “Hmm. Alexander Hamilton.”

“Really? Why?”

“I could just give him a newspaper and watch him _blow up_. I wouldn’t have to talk, and it would be one of the most entertaining dinners I can think of.”

Carter held back his laughter, aware of the other students. “Okay, that actually does sound pretty great. Can I change my answer to that?”

“Sure. What was your first answer, though?”

“You.”

Avery’s pencil dug in deep in the paper, and he dropped it the next second. “I’m sorry, what?”

Carter coughed it off, and pretended that he hadn’t said anything at all, ever. _What the heck? I was supposed to think that. Now he probably thinks I’m a creep._

To his relief, Avery decided not to mention his slip up. The other boy just picked up his pencil again, warily sending glances is way, and began fixing the heavy mark left behind in his surprise. _And I made him mess up his work. Damn. So much for a good impression. This is why people have things called filters, Carter. You think when you flirt, and be an actual sane person when you talk. Too late to pass it off as something innocent, though._

Carter bravely (he thought) stayed in his seat, though, remaining next to Avery for the remainder of class. Neither of them said anything, but that was fine. Carter ended up seeing him later that day, in seventh period anatomy. With two classes time since the incident in art, Carter thought that maybe speaking wouldn’t be horrific.

It wasn’t. Carter greeted Avery as he sat down, smiling amiably, and Avery responded as if the incident in art hadn’t happened. _Good._

But with that behind him, Carter focused his attention on more important things. Namely, the Miraculous. _He likely has it on him. Though he may not have a way to wear it, so I suppose leaving it at his place is an equally likely option. Either way, I doubt that he actually used it. Given the nature of his Miraculous, though, I wouldn’t be surprised if the kwami has bonded with him on some level, despite not actually transforming yet._

_That is, if the kwami actually chose him, and wasn’t just using him to get away from me. In which case, he probably doesn’t even have it, and the trail is cold._

When the teacher finished lecturing, they all got a worksheet to fill out. He started to work, but the murmuring of his classmates distracted him. _This could be another opportunity._

He spun in his chair, facing Avery, and put his worksheet on a notebook in his lap as a makeshift desk. “So, remember what number three is?”

Avery glanced up at him disinterestedly. “Clavicle.”

“Oh, right.” Carter wrote the answer down and tried to keep his eyes on his paper, but as he didn’t turn away, he failed pretty miserably. “What’s your lunch period?”

“Fourth.”

“Hey, me too.”

Avery raised an eyebrow, but didn’t look up at him.

“You usually stay on campus?”

“Mhmm, I bring my own lunch.”

“Oh. That’s nice. I usually go off campus.”

“Okay.”

Carter sighed in the silence that followed. _Okay, I get it. He doesn’t want to talk._ Avery furrowed his brow slightly, biting his lip, and covered his eyes with a hand. _Or he’s shy. Either way, I can’t give up. I have to make sure he can be trusted with a Miraculous._

The silence between them stretched on, making each next moment feel even less appropriate to say something in. Finally, though, Carter reached the end of his worksheet, and Avery was the one that said something. “You done with that?” He gestured to the paper.

“Yep.”

“I’ll take it up for you.” He stood, taking Carter’s paper.

That’s when Carter noticed the grey rectangular stone. _Belt buckle, huh? Was it like that, or did he modify it? Well, he definitely still has the Miraculous._ Carter’s eyes tracked it as Avery walked by, and as he turned to walk back. _Would it be too obvious to ask about it? Or would he just think I was – Oh, good god, I’m totally just staring at his crotch._ Carter flushed and turned to put his notebook back in his bag. _Focus on the notebook. I hope he didn’t notice that._

_Well, taking my paper up for me is a sign of friendship. I think. Or he’s just that kind of guy. Something to keep in mind. People who are casually altruistic, with small things like that, tend to be good people. In my limited experience, anyway. I really don’t know enough to be able to make a judgement call like who deserves a Miraculous._

_Honestly, if the kwami thinks he’s worthy, what right do I have to say anything to the contrary? Still, I have to follow through. It’s my mission, and I know that I’m supposed to take over doing this all the time. First time has to be sometime, right?_

_Should I transform and visit him? It wouldn’t be weird, he did see me in the river. He might even be expecting it. I’d have to figure out where he lives, but that shouldn’t be difficult. His Miraculous is at least partially active, so mine might be able to track it. If not, that dryad still owes me a favor._

Carter chuckled. _I think I will. I don’t want to like, become his friend that way, though. I’d rather do it this way. He doesn’t know who I am, after all, and at least for this first meeting I want to retain that authority. Just until I can emphasize what being a keeper means. And I can’t introduce him to the magical community until I make a decision, so revealing myself is a little bit too much until that point._

_It’s a good impression so far, though. He’s just not very talkative. Doesn’t seem hostile, though, thankfully. I’m leaning towards shy._

Avery had already slipped his book off his desk and cracked it open, so Carter didn’t bother him. He just busied himself with his phone and his thoughts until the bell rang.

“What’s your eighth period?” He asked, slinging his bag over his shoulder.

Avery glanced up, otherwise keeping his eyes trained on his own bag (mesh, Carter saw a rainbow collection of pens in the front pocket, along with other standard school supplies and a small, colorful, individually-wrapped cylindrical package. He didn’t quite make out exactly what that was.) “It’s a free period. I’m going home.”

“Really? I’ve got eighth off, too.”

Avery hummed, leading the way out the door.

Carter followed at a respectful distance, sidling up next to, but not too close to him once in the hallway. “Which way do you go?”

“Past the bus loop.”

“Mmm, I go back past the portables. See you tomorrow, then?”

“Yeah.”

Carter waved goodbye and separated, heading towards his own home. _Well, that was good. A promise of tomorrow.  I just need to be patient. I’ll find him tonight, have a candid discussion, talk to the kwami if I can. Here’s hoping._

His day, thankfully, was quiet. He whiled the hours away, getting a head start on his homework and then wasting time on the internet. Finally, it was time to go, and Carter called to his parents to tell them he was going out (they knew about his life in the magical community, and knew that he sometimes couldn’t elaborate on his missions, so they let him go with only a plead to be careful), and transformed before stepping out into the night.

He took his discus off his hip, wiping his hand over it to bring up the screen that would tell him where nearby active Miraculous were located. He breathed a sigh of relief when a brown dot appeared on the map, blinking methodically.

Getting there was somewhat tricky, but even in the suburbs, where things were spread out more, Carter had plenty of practice moving about unseen in the night. He found his way to the building, a two story brick house, and looked up from his place in the back yard. He double checked with his discus, confirming that the Miraculous was in a room on that side of the house, and judging by how the room in front of him was clearly a kitchen, he assumed it must be the second floor.

He narrowed his eyes, examining the window. _A bug screen. No sneaking in that way, then. I really do hate sneaking through people’s homes, though. Maybe I can…_ Carter examined the window he needed to reach. Thankfully, there was a protruding window on the ground floor – from the dining room by the looks of it, connected to the kitchen. Regardless, it gave him something to stand on. He jumped and pulled himself onto it, and peered into the open window.

He didn’t see Avery at first, only a desk in the corner with a computer, a wall of bookshelves, a whiteboard, and a filing cabinet. He only realized a few seconds later that Avery was laying on a futon on the ground, close to the wall that the window was on.

Carter rapped gently on the glass.

Avery didn’t stir. _Heavy sleeper? Or he thinks it’s nothing. Or I’m just not being loud enough._ He knocked a little louder. Avery turned over, his hair falling messily over his eyes, his blanket only barely covering his lower body. Carter shook his head when he realized that Avery was probably not wearing pyjamas. _Hopefully he’s not naked, at least. Though I guess it’s my fault for coming by unannounced in the dead of night._

Once more, Carter knocked on the glass, and this time Avery threw an arm over his eyes, opening his mouth in what was probably a groan. A few seconds of stillness later, he lowered his arm again and opened his eyes.

And _jumped_ to his feet, assuming a kind of fighting stance before squinting and reaching for his glasses. Once he put them on, recognition passed through his gaze and he relaxed slightly, though he was still obviously on guard.

He opened the window. As the bug screen was still between them, Carter couldn’t enter, but he did ask Avery to grab the stone he found the day before and meet him in the back yard.

Avery wouldn’t make eye contact with him, Carter noticed, but he agreed readily enough.

A few minutes later, Avery exited the house, wearing blue plaid pyjama pants (put on _after_ their conversation at the window), and holding a belt in his hands. “I assumed you’d want this, but I didn’t think you’d be able to find me.”

“I found it in the first place. Trust me, if I can find it in a river, I can find it in the suburbs.”

“How did you find it? And, uh, what is it? And who are you?”

Carter chuckled. “Relax. One question at a time. I’m in no rush.”

Avery curled his fist protectively around the Miraculous. “Who are you?”

Carter thought about that for a moment. “My real name… I might tell you some other time. You just need to know right now that I’m exceedingly familiar with stones like the one you’re carrying.” He thumbed the totem around his neck. “And my companions and I are somewhat like collectors of the things.”

Avery didn’t seem satisfied by that answer. “What is it, exactly?”

“A magic rock.”

Avery gave him a withering glance.

“No, really. And actually, I’m going to want to talk to the creature inside it.”

Avery paled. “Creature inside it?” He repeated. “Oh… but that doesn’t make any sense. There can’t be anything inside it.”

“What was the last question?” Carter thought out loud. “Oh, right. How I found it. Well, I had help the first time, but since I was able to make contact with it, my own could track it down for me. I just had to follow the map.”

“Go back to the creature inside the rock, please?”

“Sure. You haven’t seen it?” He shook his head. “Strange. It was what carried it up to you from the river.”

Avery looked at the Miraculous, opening his hand to get a good look but quickly reaffirming his grip, stepping back. “I don’t think I should give it to you.”

Carter arched an eyebrow. _Well, I am a stranger to him. And he doesn’t know why I want it._ “No?”

“No. It doesn’t… oh god, what’s happening? It… I feel like it doesn’t want to go with you.”

“Ah.” Carter nodded. _It makes sense. The kwami returned to dormancy after getting the Miraculous to him, but since it’s not truly asleep, it’s talking to him. I wonder what that’s like. It sounds like a feeling, but it could be a voice. I wonder what kind of connection is really there._ “That would be the creature inside.”

Avery shook his head. “Fine, okay, I’ll pretend that there really is a creature inside this. If that’s true, it doesn’t want to go with you, so I’m not letting you take it.”

Carter smiled. _Willing to defend a creature that he’s not even convinced exists. That’s definitely an attribute worthy of a keeper._ “Okay.”

Avery hesitated. “Okay?”

“Yeah. I haven’t decided whether taking it would be best or not. I’ll of course have to factor its opinion into the matter. But just because it wants to stay with you doesn’t mean you’re the best for it. If you’d rather not have it on your hands, I can take it. I know it might not seem to be worth much, but I do give my word that I would take care of it.

“You see, that stone comes with more than just being a nice accessory. If you accept it, you’ll have to take care of the creature inside. And I do mean that it would be _outside_ the stone. And then that opens you up to a whole other beast. It’s a lot of responsibility, and can be difficult even without juggling an everyday life alongside.” Carter scratched the back of his head. “I’m being vague, aren’t I?” He chuckled sheepishly. “Well, I have to be, unfortunately. The phrase ‘ignorance is bliss’ wasn’t written by the ignorant. It’s hard to emphasize what will happen without telling you explicitly. There’s a very real chance that you’ll have a much easier life if you don’t accept the stone. It’s only fair to warn you.”

Avery worried his lip. “It wants to stay with me. I’ll handle whatever comes from that, but I’m not sending it off someplace it doesn’t want to go.”

“You don’t actually believe that there’s a creature in there. Why would you care what it wants?”

“You insist that it’s there. And I have… a feeling.”

Carter examined him closely. Avery had lifted his chin, bringing his head and gaze up enough to stare him down. He was clearly determined. _Whether it be empathy for the kwami, or wariness about me, either way shows qualities of a keeper. If I was in his place, I’d be reluctant to give me anything I wanted from him. Brave, though, to tell me no so explicitly. Coupled with the other things, a good quality. Strange how he never seems so brave elsewhere._ “Alright, then.” Carter shrugged. “As I said, I’m not taking anything. I’ll trust you with it. I’ll be back though, to check up on you, alright? If you decide you still want it then, I’ll explain in more detail what it is.” _I doubt at this point that I’ll need to take it from him. But, without saying it, I can’t rule it out just yet._

“Okay.”

“Okay.” Carter repeated, grinning. “I’ll see you again sometime.”

With a hop, Carter ran over and jumped over the fence to the neighbor’s yard, and began making his way back home. He stopped on the roof of the neighbor’s house long enough only to see Avery get back inside. _I think this will turn out just fine._


	2. A Step

School – regular, human school, that is – was shaping up to be a lot more interesting. Which, for Carter, was saying something, considering he found endless satisfaction in learning most subjects.

Having talked things through with Arrel for a while the night before, he felt prepared and excited for his day ahead. _Avery’s in History, but we don’t sit near each other, so my best chance for a real conversation is during lunch. Might be odd, though, to find him during lunch on our literal second day of actually talking. Should I hold off? I don’t have forever to decide on him as a keeper, though, so I’ll have to expedite certain things. I should probably accept that some things are going to be odd and maybe even uncomfortable if I want to be his friend in any reasonable amount of time._

_Might want to cut back on flirting, though, or at least not be so explicit. Seriously, what was that yesterday? He’d definitely get the wrong impression if I don’t get that sorted._

_Wonder where he sits. Could try to pass it off as just running into him._ Carter made a face. _Actually, fat chance of that. You asked him yesterday what lunch period he has, Brainiac. He’d see right through you. In that case, it’s probably best to be honest. “Hey yeah I was curious and thought maybe we could hang out?” Something like that. Just be earnest. Skate by on pure charm and child-like innocence. Yeah._

_God, this is going to be so embarrassing._

Despite how far away his mind was, Carter still managed to live up to his teachers’ expectations for one more day. Anyone in History might have noticed one too many glances in Avery’s direction, but he was pretty sure the students didn’t notice and, if the teacher did, she didn’t care. Which worked out well enough for him.

Not that he had much cause for worry. He was liked well enough but he didn’t really have any friends who would call him out on odd behavior like that. Most of his friends were magical. That saved him the trouble of identity shenanigans. School could get a little lonely sometimes but he mostly just showed up for class and left, anyway. As he told Avery, he usually even ate off-campus, so he never really felt his isolation there. Plus, there was always Arrel.

_Speaking of. Better feed him._ In no particular hurry, Carter followed the rest of his class out of third period and sought his locker. He retrieved his and Arrel’s lunch and put it in his bag, so that Arrel could rummage while he searched for Avery.

Which turned out to be quite difficult. Unsurprising, given how many students were also eating. _I don’t recall his group of friends. Searching the cafeteria is a lesson in futility. He mentioned he brings his own lunch so unless he’s with someone he wouldn’t be in line, and he’s not at the tables. Or he wasn’t before they were packed. None of the tables outside, none of the hidey-holes I can think of. Huh. I know he’s here today, I saw him in History. So, where’d he get off to?_

_Art room, maybe? I know kids eat in there sometimes, and it should be open this period. But heck, it could just as easily be anywhere else. May as well try. Last effort for the day. I’ve already lost half my lunch period wandering around like a lost puppy. Since I actually do have lunch with me, I could probably stand to work a bit on my project anyway._

_Heh, yeah, because I’ll do a lot of things, but walking into the art room, looking around, and leaving without saying a word is definitely not one of them. Enough people who saw me today must think I’m bonkers without adding that to the places I’ve aimlessly passed through this period._

_I’m going to cry when I find out he sits in the cafeteria because that would straight up just be unfair like how am I supposed to find one person in there without looking like a freaking loon._

_Not that it would even matter. I’m sure he sits with friends and at this point I don’t want to interrupt whatever they’re talking about and oh my god he’s right freaking there._ Carter paused, staring blankly at the figure in the dimly lit alley between one of the main buildings and the cafeteria. Avery was seated on a small step just outside the doors to the main building, tucked into a corner with his nose tucked into a book.

It was actually a really nice spot. The shaded alley kept everything cool (or, cooler than most outdoor spots) and the light from the building streaming through the glass doors gave him ample light to read by despite everything else being relatively dark.

Carter was pretty sure he passed the place at least twice in his search and hoped to god that Avery was too absorbed in his book to notice.

He approached slowly. _God, I hate this. But if I only talk to him when he’s not reading then I might get in one conversation a week. If I’m lucky. Okay. I just got to do it. Say hi. Ask if you can sit with him. He can keep reading if he wants, so long as I find him tomorrow, too. It sets up a precedent, and makes us both more comfortable. Do you have a book with you? No, have to use your phone, then. Oh my god, okay, here we go._

“Hey, Avery. Mind if I sit with you?”

“Hmm?” Avery looked up from his book for just a fraction of a second. “S’pose not.” His eyes snapped back up suddenly, keeping Carter firmly rooted. “Thought you ate off campus.”

Carter smiled and shrugged. “I got lonely. Off-campus sounds fun, but when you aren’t with anyone it’s actually kind of dull.”

Avery’s eyes had already returned to his book, but Carter was pretty sure he wasn’t reading it anymore. “Your friends are busy?”

Carter chuckled nervously, thinking about his usual lunch routine. _Friends. Right._ “Actually, yeah. But I eat alone pretty often. They can’t usually visit all that often.”

“Really? They don’t go here?”

“Nope. Uh, truth be told, it’s not my friends I eat with. Usually, it’s my sister. Despite what I said, eating here isn’t uncommon for me either, since again, it’s not always practical. You know, with each of our schedules and the busses and making sure we’re both back to school on time.”

“You’ve got a sister?”

“Half-sister, but who’s counting? Yeah. You have siblings?”

“Two brothers.”

“You live together?”

“One of them’s off in College Station now, but yeah.”

“Hm. Must be nice.”

Avery gave him a strange look. “You don’t live with your sister?”

“Nah. Just worked out that way. Mom’s place is a lot closer to here, and Ella’s my half-sister on Dad’s side so she stays with him.”

He was quiet for a moment. “How old is she?”

“Sixteen.”

He arched his brow. “Really? Just a year younger than us?” He seemed to think about what he said and worried his lip. “I mean, uh…”

Carter chuckled. “Yeah. Mom and Dad actually separated before they found out Mom was pregnant with me. So no, he didn’t cheat on her.”

“Huh.”

“Seems odd to you?”

Avery shrugged. “I guess not. My family’s nuclear so I guess I’m just not used to that kind of situation.”

“Most people aren’t. It’s not all that bad, though. Mom and Dad are on good terms and I see Ella often enough when we do get the chance to have lunch together. See Dad plenty too, though more over the summer, obviously.” Avery just hummed in response, closing his book, finally, but keeping his eyes determinedly glued to the cover. “What’re your brothers’ like?”

He snorted. “Jocks. Both of them.”

Carter snickered. “I’m so sorry.”

That, at least, earned a smile, and Avery also relaxed just a little. “Yeah. They like to roughhouse. Not always a bad thing, but they can forget that they work out on a regular basis and I am just a small nerd.” Carter chortled, letting Avery continue. “The worst part is family dinner, though. I can’t even claim I don’t know what they’re talking about anymore, I just still don’t care. And it’s basically all the time, too. Only Dad and I don’t follow sports.”

“Not at all interested?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Carter hummed. “I understand. They don’t bore me, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to follow what’s going on either.”

“I always get the ‘but the competition’ but truth be told when you have no reason to care for any particular side, competition isn’t exactly interesting either. Plus, I mean, why would I watch people sit around measuri- I mean, why would I watch what basically boils down to a spitting competition when I have a perfectly good book to read.” He lifted his book and tapped it for emphasis.

“A compelling argument. Frankly, I can’t disagree.” Avery chuckled, encouragement enough for Carter to ask another question. “You read a lot. Any particular genre or…?”

He shrugged. “Mostly fantasy, but really I just read what catches my interest.”

_Fantasy, ha, he’s going to have a heck of a time when he finds out about the rest of the magical community._ “Hmm, wow. To be honest I can’t even really remember the last fiction book I read.” _Not that a lot of them wouldn’t qualify as really odd fiction in his world, if I’m honest._

“Really? Not a big reader?”

“Oh, quite the opposite. I’m just usually already reading something for my studies and don’t have much time for fiction.”

“Ah. All school or fun studies?”

“Mostly fun studies.”

He snickered. “I know the feeling.”

“To be honest, though, I’ve been a little busy even without that. I kind of miss reading. Should really find some time.”

“I find lunch to be prime reading time. When people aren’t bothering you, anyway.” The sideways smirk cast his way almost convinced Carter that Avery didn’t actually mind. Still, he knew he didn’t like to be interrupted when he was reading, so Carter still felt a bit guilty.

“Hah, sorry about that, by the way.” He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. “I don’t like to do it but you seem to be reading every time I see you.”

The smirk fell. Avery blinked blankly at him for a moment, then his eyes returned to the book in his lap. “Nah, I get it. Don’t worry about it. I don’t mind when it’s people I know.”

_Not friends, but definitely not strangers! So… progress?_ “Good. If you do want to just read, though, I don’t mind. I know how hard reading time can be to come by.”

“It’s fine.” Avery shook his head. “You’re fun to talk to.”

Carter grinned. “Yeah? I’m glad to hear it. Thought for sure I was just annoying you.”

“Maybe a little at first.” He snickered. “Not anymore, though.” _Fair enough, I suppose._ “And don’t worry about interrupting my reading. If I really don’t want to stop I’ll probably just ignore you.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Carter leaned back on his hands, examining Avery closely. _He’s definitely likeable. A bit shy, which I knew, of course, but when he does talk he’s friendly. He didn’t call me a friend, but he seems pretty cautious and he does talk to me like one – or it feels like we’re friends when we talk, anyway. I’m going to call this a pretty successful lunch. Need to find him tomorrow and keep this going. Should prepare my excuse, though. What might hold Ella up for two days? Ah, wait, tomorrow is Thursday, right? Don’t even have to make stuff up, then._

_Anyway, I’m convinced he’s a good person. I can hear Arrel and my mentor, though. “You like to see the best in people, Carter. Try to be a bit more objective.” Alright, fine. So fact is he’s a bit bristly, but only at first. I attribute it to his shyness, and there is bits lingering so I guess I’ll have to keep an eye on that. If it drops after a while then it’s most likely just shyness, if not, it’s his personality._

“Did you, uh…” Carter snapped out of his thoughts at Avery’s quiet voice. _Always quiet. A soft-spoken kid so far._ “Wait, are you in physics?”

“Yeah. Sixth period.”

“I’ve got it fifth. You get the homework done?”

“Yeah. Not entirely sure about all my answers, but I’ve got something, anyway.”

Avery chuckled nervously. “Yeah. Me too, mostly. I’m just missing the last one, I think.” He opened his backpack and put his book away, pulling out a folder in its place. Carter shifted a little closer to look at the homework sheet better. “Yeah. See? You know how to do this?”

“I think? I think it’s just the other vector problem backwards.”

Avery frowned at the page for a few more moments. “That kind of makes sense. It gives me those so… I just need to flip the formula, right?” He started doing some algebra on the side of the paper, orienting the formula he needed the right way.

“Yep. That’s how I did it, at least.”

“This what you got? Seems a little high.”

“Well, if it’s wrong, we’re both wrong.”

“I’ll take it. Thanks. That was bothering me.”

“Anytime, buddy.”

Avery gave him an odd look, but his eyes shifted quickly back to his homework, which he began packing away. Once it was tucked safely inside the folder and his backpack, he just silently fiddled with the zipper, beginning to slowly curl up – to make himself smaller. _Is he still nervous around me?_

Carter frowned, and the silence stretched on and passed the limits into being awkward. Avery didn’t seem to know what to do with his hands now that his book was gone, and he had his elbows tucked in so as to take up as little space as possible. Carter considered the possibility that he was crowding him, since Avery was up against a wall on his other side, but thought that to move away would be obvious and possibly even more awkward than staying put. As a compromise, he stretched his legs out in front of him and crossed them, so that his leg wasn’t quite so close to Avery’s.

Avery cleared his throat. “I, uh, I like your necklace.”

“Yeah?” He smiled, thumbing the miraculous at his neck. “Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah. It’s unusual.” _I’ve said it before, but glamor magic is so overpowered._ “Suits you.”

Carter laughed. “Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“Eh, pick one.”

He shook his head, checking the time on his phone. “Haha, well, it’s almost time to go to class. Looking forward to the observation exercise today?” He stood and stretched, looking down at Avery and offering a hand.

Avery took it and let Carter help him to his feet. “Ugh, no. Sometimes they’re not bad but golly I hate those.”

“To be honest, it’s not even the exercise that’s so unpleasant, it’s that terrible paper.”

“Right? It’s impossible to work with! It’s like drawing on freaking glass.”

“Yeah, it is pretty slick. Half the time, my pencil doesn’t even work.”

“I’d use pen, but I’m pretty sure the ink would just roll off it.”

Carter laughed with him. “You use ink much?”

“Only in the hidden depths of my sketchbook. We don’t talk about those.”

“I see. No erasers?”

“No erasers.” He agreed. “I do love ink, but I’m afraid I love a get out of jail free card just a little more.”

He chuckled. “So what’s your favorite medium?”

“Probably charcoal.”

“Really?” Carter held the door open, following Avery into the building. “You color sense is fantastic, I’m a bit surprised.”

Avery bit his lip and shook his head. “It’s not that good. And anyway I like how quick it is. You have to be careful, but you can do a lot really fast and I don’t know it keeps me from overthinking it, I guess. I’m usually pretty satisfied with charcoal.”

“How about watercolor? Same could be said, probably.”

He made a face. “Yeah, I guess. I don’t have much experience with it though. I always found it really difficult to control.”

“Makes sense. I like chalk pastel myself. Kind of similar to charcoal actually. Especially since I do monochrome stuff anyway, but yeah.”

“I’ve never actually used chalk pastel.”

“No? Dude, you should. I think you could do some pretty cool stuff with it.”

He chuckled. “Next project, maybe.”

Art class that day was a lot more fun than usual, since Carter was able to talk to Avery the whole time. There were a few long pauses that bordered on awkward, but for the most part it was just amiable chatting. And, to Carter’s delight, spending almost two hours with Avery nearly uninterrupted did wonders to make Avery more comfortable with him. And Carter actually really enjoyed Avery’s company. He was a bit sharp, but it was all through friendly sarcasm, not with any real bite, and he found that he actually liked it. It was casual and friendly and Carter was a little too accustomed to the professional atmosphere of his job as a keeper. He joked with his mentor, sure, but on the whole, it was mostly business. It felt really good to just relax with someone.

_Despite that, I’m not supposed to just relax. I’m supposed to observe him objectively and come to a pretty major decision. Though honestly, I’m not even sure it’s my place to decide something like this. I get that keepers need to be vetted but what authority do I really have? What right do I have to decide this for Avery and for the kwami? I just… I don’t like it._

Anatomy was the same as art. Carter turned around in his seat for the whole time they were doing worksheets and he chatted with Avery the whole time. They stayed mostly on topic, but did stray off in tangents a bit more often than in art. Carter took that as a good sign.

And it seemed to be no time at all before he was on his way home. _Hmm. Wet today. Should’ve brought an umbrella._ “Are you clear?” Arrel’s voice in his bag was quiet and gentle.

“Yeah. Be careful not to let my papers get wet. It’s kind of raining.” He looked behind him to see the school vanish behind the trees and pushed on through the forested neighborhood surrounding.

Arrel just phased through the bag to keep from opening it to the elements and settled on Carter’s shoulder. “You spent a lot of time with him today.”

“Avery. Yeah. I like him.” Carter smiled, looking up at the misty rain and shaking droplets of water off his hair with a hand. “He’s a good guy.”

“So you have an idea of whether he should be a keeper?”

Carter groaned. “I guess. Why do I have to decide, though? I don’t feel comfortable with this kind of…”

“Power?”

“Yeah. Sort of. It just feels… I don’t feel it’s really my place to make a decision like this. I’m still fledgling at best as a keeper. I’m still learning what it even means. And even if I wasn’t, why should I decide the future of him or the kwami? Shouldn’t they make the decision themselves?”

Arrel hummed. For a long minute, no one spoke. “I understand your apprehension.” He finally said. “But though I can’t speak for Avery, the kwami understands the situation as it is. It would expect a guardian or another keeper to vet its choice. This is standard.”

“No keeper vetted me.”

“No, but there’s no other keepers nearby. Your mentor filled the role, though, anyway. She’s… well, let’s just say she’s qualified.”

Carter sighed. “But me?”

“You’re a keeper. Traditionally, the role falls to you even if this wasn’t your mission. I think your mentor would have asked you to do this regardless.”

“Convenient.”

“I will admit that this situation is… odd. Some kwami do like to choose their keepers, but rarely is the keeper in possession of the Miraculous before they’re approved. And I don’t want to influence your decision, but I’m sure you already know. If you did take the Miraculous from Avery… the kwami might be a bit problematic.”

“Yeah. The whole biting me and flying out of the river thing did give me that impression.”

“You must forgive it. That kwami is young. It can be… temperamental. It doesn’t quite understand how things are, yet.”

“You said it would expect vetting.”

“It should.” Arrel shifted around uncomfortably. “I mean, it was instructed. But it’s never had the experience of its choice being rejected. Just because you expect something doesn’t mean it’s not upsetting. You saw how rash its decision was in the first place. It just dove into the hands of the first viable person. I’m not sure it wasn’t mostly just to get away from us.”

“It wasn’t a terrible choice, though.”

“Perhaps not, but does Avery really act like a keeper?”

“And what does a keeper act like? I’m my only point of reference and I can’t expect anyone else to act just like me. Frankly, I wouldn’t want them to.”

Arrel patted his shoulder. “I know it’s hard. It’s a lot of responsibility. But you have to look at it objectively. And be patient.”

“I know. But I’m not entirely sure what I’m even looking for. How am I supposed to make a decision? And again, is it really even my place? At the very least it should be my mentor.”

“You may not believe it, but it is more your place than anyone’s. Your mentor trusts you to do this.”

“But why? I’m still learning.”

“She thinks you’re ready. You’re not going to stop learning, Carter, and I’m sure your mentor is going to be with you for your whole journey but at some point you have to step out from under her. You were nervous about going on solo missions before, remember? This is just a different kind of mission. Trust yourself. You’ll make the right decision.”

He sighed again, shaking his head. “Alright, well, what do you think? You were there the whole time. What’s your opinion?”

Arrel was quiet for a long time as he considered. So long, in fact, that Carter was almost back at his apartment by the time the kwami spoke up again. “I think that he’s timid. I don’t think he’s going to cope well with the new and unexpected things that being a keeper would expose him to, and I’m not sure he’d be up to the challenge of taking care of such a young kwami. But he is a good person, and does seem to show many qualities of person that we’d look for in an ideal keeper.”

“I don’t know. He seemed okay when he first got the Miraculous, and when I visited him when we were transformed. He seems more nervous in more a more casual setting, which wouldn’t be too much of an issue, especially if we’re working together so I’m there to back him up.”

Arrel tipped his head. “That’s just what I think. Its significance compared to the proper quality of person is up to you to decide.”

“Obviously having the right heart is the most important. But you’re right that I can’t ignore everything else.” He crossed his arms. “And what role would he serve? Would we be partners? Working together? Or just two students of my mentor, independent?”

“I think it’s likely that you would have individual lessons, but you’ll probably be working together a lot.”

“Then our chemistry has to be considered too. We get along, which is a point in favor in that case.”

“Do you think he has the right temperament for the kind of diplomacy that you do? Would people listen to him, and could he get information across effectively?”

“That… I’m not sure of.”

“That is at the core of what you do. And it might be good if he had combat training as well. Some sort of martial arts, maybe, but I wouldn’t put as much emphasis on it.”

“He’s not bad with words, he’s just a bit shy. I’ve seen him help others in class before and from what I can tell he’s a relatively effective teacher. Again, it’s a professional exchange, so he seems to do well. But you’re right that he might not be comfortable in a lot of those situations. Though, I’m not sure that that’s not just a matter of training. I’m not exactly a model extrovert either. My only worry is his authority. I’ll need to eavesdrop when he helps another student to hear his tone. And he might back down too quickly if someone doesn’t like what he’s saying.”

“That’s my worry as well. Keep in mind that he’d have to cope with knowledge of the magical community.”

“He’s a fantasy reader. I’ll have to clear up some misconceptions but I’m not overly worried. Seems likely he’ll be more amazed than anything else.”

“Maybe. Keep it in mind.”

Carter climbed the stairs to his apartment, unlocking the door when he reached it. He didn’t bother calling to his mom, she’d still be working at that time. Instead, he ventured into his room and began clearing outdated work on his cork board. “Okay, so – no that needs to stay. I’ll move it over… yeah, so Avery.” With a large clear space to work with, he pulled out some notebook paper and got to work.

“He’s pretty different in different settings,” Arrel said. “I’m worried that how he is with you when we’re transformed is just a façade. He wouldn’t be able to keep that up forever.”

“No, I agree. It does show that he’s capable of it, though. I think with training he’d open up a bit more. Be a bit more confident. You disagree?”

“Not necessarily.” Arrel frowned. “I only think it might be harder than you think.”

“Maybe, but he’s also the kwami’s pick.”

“The rash pick of a young kwami.”

Carter sighed. “You keep saying that. I thought you guys lived forever, how young is this kwami exactly? And comparatively, I guess, what would it be if it was human?”

Arrel hummed. “I suppose it would be easiest for you to think of it as a teenager. We mature slowly, so though it is quite old in years it’s still not totally mature.”

“Hmm. You talk like you know this kwami.”

“I do. When I met it, it was still in training. It got its first keeper towards the tail end of my keeper’s life. Given how long has passed since then, it’s unlikely that it’s had more than one keeper since. Most likely it hasn’t had any.”

“You mean Avery might be its second keeper… ever?”

Arrel hummed in affirmation. “As I said: young. He was an especially temperamental one, too. Hasn’t had time to smooth out the edges.”

“I see. So Avery might have his hands full.”

“Yes. And the kwami’s judgement might not be sound. I wouldn’t put too much faith in it.”

Carter frowned, but wrote everything down, taking notes to review. “You know this kwami. Do you think Avery would be okay with it?”

Arrel swayed in the air a bit. “I’m not sure. I could see it going either way, honestly. It’ll be a gamble, I can tell you that. I’m afraid I don’t know enough about Avery to say much more.”

“Hmm. Despite that, I do think the kwami’s decision should be considered. Maybe it was just to get away from us, but we can’t ask it to find out. Along with everything else… I mean obviously, there’s going to be some problems, right? But I think overall he’s not a bad pick.”

“You don’t need to decide right now. There’s still time to consider.”

“And you know I’ll be using it. Maybe with a second opinion? Annie?”

“I wouldn’t object if you want to talk it through with her.”

Carter sighed, wrote down a few more notes from the conversation before he had gotten home, and pinned it on the cork board. With that done, he turned to his homework. “It’s a bit late today, though. You’re right. I’ll have to wait a bit longer with this. I’ll talk to Annie this weekend, and maybe make the decision then. Does that work?”

“For me, yes.”

* * *

 

True to his word, Carter joined Avery at lunch the next day, making sure to inform his new friend that he would be with his sister the next day and couldn’t sit with him. Not a huge loss, in Carter’s mind. Firstly, because he loved his sister and in no situation is spending time with her a net loss, but also because by then he felt comfortable with Avery. The pauses were less often awkward and more often comfortable. Avery got more animated as he talked, gesticulating and smiling and sitting a bit more upright. That was the best part for Carter, but the best part as far as his mission was concerned was that he learned more about Avery.

He trained in martial arts nearly all his life, he was an amateur writer, things that boded well for his future as a keeper. Carter figured that he had successfully set up an expectation. Though he wouldn’t be there with Avery on Friday, he’d be back on Monday.

Hopefully, knowing whether he’s talking to a new keeper or not and, hopefully, without any smoke and mirrors.

Carter was fairly confident but he didn’t let any decision solidify in his mind, though he admitted that knew what outcome he wanted. With that thought in mind, he smiled across the table at his sister. “But anyway,” she said, bringing her story to a close. “Other than that, things have been pretty boring. What about you? Any drama? At all?”

“Afraid not, sis.”

“Come on. School is so boring, give me something. New crush? Random people in your class being weird? Anything with Arrel, maybe?”

“No, no, and yes, actually. Boy in my class actually found one.”

Ella let her drink fall out of her mouth back into the glass. “What?”

“Mhmm. There’s another. But making sure it’s safe was my mission, so I have to decide whether he’s fit to keep it.”

“Dude.” Carter shrugged in response. “ _Dude._ ” Ella started bouncing. “I want to meet him.”

“Aha, right. See, thing is we’re only just barely friends at the moment, so introducing you to him might be-”

“Ugh, fine. Tell me he’s cute, though.”

“I’m pretty sure ‘cute’ isn’t a requirement for being a keeper.”

“Can’t hurt, though, can it? And don’t think I don’t know when you’re avoiding a question.”

“For my own sake, I refuse to answer to your satisfaction.”

Ella pouted and narrowed her eyes. “Fine. But you’re letting him keep it, right?”

“I need to talk to Annie before I decide anything.”

“Annie?”

“Naiad at the mall. She helped me find the Miraculous in the first place, before Avery got it.”

“That sounds like a story.”

Carter chuckled and obliged to tell her about the events of that afternoon.

When he was done, Ella scoffed. “Shenanigans. Such shenanigans.”

He just shrugged. “I’m not complaining. It’s working out.”

“Smart of you to get other people’s opinions though. Like how you don’t ask me.”

“I know your opinion, El. You’ll say to let him keep it no matter what. Just like Arrel will play devil’s advocate and keep warning ominously about how everything can go wrong.”

She waved him off. “That’s just his job. He’s just making sure you have everything thought out. Not sure why he tries, though. Nine times out of ten you’re a thousand steps ahead. But I am surprised that you aren’t taking this to Dakota. Isn’t he like your right hand man?”

Carter scoffed. “Other way around, more like. And I guess I don’t want to bring this to the Cradle yet. I’d rather the guys not know about him if it ends up that Avery won’t be a keeper.”

Ella gave him an odd look. “But you’re friends, aren’t you? You’re never going to bring Avery to the Cradle if he isn’t a keeper?”

He shrugged. “Maybe eventually, but better for everyone else to just know he’s a muggle friend than that he was almost a keeper. Not sure I particularly want Avery knowing I frequent a bar either, even if it is friendly to minors.”

Ella shook her head. “Oh, Carter.”

“What?”

“Nothing. Whatever. I’m glad you’re finally making a friend your age.”

“You’re close enough! And Ash and Todd are-”

“Twenty-one, dude. And I’m your sister; I don’t count.”

“Well, that’s… shut up.”

“Eloquent, as always.”

“El, rude.”

She laughed at him. “So, when are you talking to Annie?”

He sighed. “Hopefully this weekend. Once I do, I can put in my official decision with my mentor and after she reviews, I’ll let Avery know. By Monday, this should all be settled.”

“And you can start training! But don’t forget about your meeting at IAME. Have you factored that into your timing?”

Carter groaned. “Don’t remind me. Why the dryads had to have the meeting _there_ …”

“To be fair, it is pretty much where that kind of thing _should_ take place.”

“Honestly, I don’t even know anymore how I got dragged into that mess. You’re right, except for the fact that I don’t work for IAME, and have no real authority.”

“Your mentor will be there, won’t she?”

“Only in the background. She made it clear that this is on me.”

“Well…” Ella shrugged, giving him a sympathetic look. “It’s a little anime, but you are kind of a metaphorical bridge between the magical community and ours. It makes sense for you to mediate.”

“I wouldn’t argue with that, but not… not yet. I’m still too green, and everyone else feels it. A lot of IAME especially don’t like me on principle, and they can tell that I can’t handle this kind of thing yet. I can’t mediate between people who don’t trust me. A mediator should be respected by both sides and trusted by them to remain impartial.”

“Then make them trust you. Sit up straight, chin up. They can tell you don’t think you’re ready because you let them. Fake it ‘til you make it, right?”

“I know, I know. I normally handle it alright, I just… something about the IAME building throws me off.”

“I don’t blame you. No teenager should be in a government building unless they’re like, an intern or something.”

“And everyone looks at me. It’s so weird, like don’t they have anything better to do than gawk?”

“They work for the government; of course they don’t.”

Carter chuckled. “That’s fair, I guess.”

“There you go. You’ll do fine. And if you do need more time for Avery, then this is a little bit more pressing. You can put him off for a few more days if you need to.”

“I won’t. It’s fine. I just need a second opinion and then I’ll be done with that. And the sooner the better, anyway. My mentor can get started with him and I’ll have someone else in a similar position to help with things like this. I won’t have to keep bothering you with it.”

“It’s not a bother, Carter. I’ve told you a million times. Even if we are talking land development, it’s still infinitely more interesting than anything normal human life brings. And Avery? That’s interesting.”

“Glad you think so.” Carter sniffed, checking his watch. “We should get back, soon. Half a day, then we’re free.”

“Well, I am,” she said. “You’ve got official business to take care of.”

“Suppose there’s no convincing Dakota to-”

“He’d lose his license if he gave alcohol to a minor. Not that he would.”

He sighed theatrically and stood, carefully grabbing his backpack as he did so. “Well, let’s get back to it. We’ll both just have to push on.”

“Use some of that famous patience of yours.”

“If I have any left after a meal with you.”

“Ouch, bro. Ouch.”

It took a short while to get back to school but Carter managed, as he usually did, to walk into the art room on time. The bell rang just as he sat down next to Avery.

Avery looked up at him from his work. “How was lunch?”

Carter grinned. “Any lunch with Ella is a good lunch.”

Avery smiled warmly at him, softer than Carter had previously seen, but it vanished when Avery moved his attention back to his project. _Empathy or affection? Both? Can it be both?_

_Should be careful about jumping to conclusions. It was just a smile. I was smiling, I was happy. So, he smiled. Anyone would. He just wasn’t being teasing or sarcastic so… yeah._

Their teacher announced their daily observation exercise, so Carter let it distract him as he worked. Once that was done and he was back on his project, he started up small talk with Avery again. They were both quieter than the day before – Carter’s fault, he thought, since he was also busy thinking ahead to both his meetings with Annie and with IAME over the weekend – but he thought the quiet felt more comfortable anyway. They were getting used to each other, and Carter was getting a feel for him, so it was all working out.

_Yeah. It’s all working out. But god, my mentor really put a lot on my plate this time._

He made it through the school day, saying goodbye to Avery at the end of it with an unspoken promise to talk to him before school started again the next week. He stopped by at his apartment only long enough to sort through his bag and grab his notes on Avery, so it wasn’t long before he was on the bus to downtown.

When he arrived on the Riverwalk, he was faced with the problem plaguing his mind since he set out. He ventured to a quieter spot closer to the river and sat down. “Now, how do I find her?”

“Wrong question.” Arrel’s quiet voice came from his bag. He put it in his lap and hugged it close so that Arrel didn’t have to speak loud enough for anyone else to hear. “What happened last time?”

“She found me. My guess is she sensed my mentor.”

“Good. What else was she able to sense?”

“The other Miraculous. But that was in the water.”

“So how do you let her find you?”

“Submerge the Miraculous?”

“That would work. If I touched the water, she should also be able to sense that.”

“Okay, so I need to find somewhere where you can touch the water without being seen. Should be easy enough. I’ll just head to one of those points we came up for air last time.”

Arrel hummed cheerfully, and Carter hoisted the bag back over his shoulders, setting off to find a good spot. It was more difficult, considering it was a Friday afternoon, but he found one soon enough. Once Arrel zoomed out of the bag and touched the water, he only had to wait a minute before Annie shot out of the river, totally dry and not even breaking the surface tension of the water. “Carter!” She exclaimed. “You’re back!”

“I am.” He hummed. “You want to get dinner?”

“Uh, yeah. Where are we going?”

“I was thinking we’d just hit up the dining area in the mall. Unless you have a better idea.”

She stretched her arms over her head, exposing her midriff as she leaned side to side. “You sure know how to treat a girl. Works for me.”

“Are you even a girl?”

“Sort of. But if you want to talk about naiad gender, then you’re going to have to buy me a lot more than dinner.”

He chuckled. “Alright, alright. So long as the pronouns aren’t wrong?”

“She is fine for me. Gosh Carter, you’re so considerate. Your new keeper must be head over heels already.” She finished stretching and took his hand before they set off together towards the mall.

He laughed. “Not even. It’s just common decency. Honestly, I should have asked you a lot sooner. But anyway, he’s actually why I’m here. I thought it’d be smart to get another opinion on this.”

“Really? Well, honestly if he’s half as sweet as you then I’d say go for it. Didn’t know he was your type, though. Good to know.”

Carter sputtered. “What?”

“Just teasing. I know what you meant. But I mean it, actually. If he’s half as sweet as you, he’d make a great keeper.”

“That’s a little…”

“And if he overthinks things half as much as you, he’d still be way too uptight.”

“I’m not uptight.”

She snickered. “A little bit, dude. But that’s all part of why we love you.”

“I-but-what… humph.” He shook his head. “I’m not even- I’m just- I’m not even going to try.”

“And a master wordsmith, too.”

“Okay, I don’t need this.”

She gave him a devilish grin. “Okay, okay. I’m sorry, you’re right. So tell me about this new keeper. Is he nice? Is he cute? Well, I saw him, I know he’s cute, but do _you_ think he’s cute?”

Carter sighed. “You and El both. I told her, ‘cute’ is not a requirement for being a keeper.”

“But he is cute. And anyway, you don’t know what the kwami’s requirements are.”

“Do kwami find us cute?”

Arrel’s voice in his bag brought a swift resolution to that question. “Sometimes. Insofar as you find a puppy cute.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Annie chuckled. “I mean dogs are the best of us.”

“True. Very true.”

“For real, though, why do you even need to talk to me about this? Is it that close?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Personally, I think he’s fine. He’s a good guy. A bit shy, but I think he would be able to do what he needs to. And learning about our community would be shocking for anyone, so I think with a bit of help he’s no worse a pick than anyone else. I just…”

“It’s a big decision, and you want someone to tell you you’re not messing it up.”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Well you’re _not_ messing it up.” She put her hand on his chest and squeezed his tightly with her other hand. “You’re doing great, and I know you’ve put a lot of thought into this decision. You’re like the smartest kid I know, and I know that you know what you’re doing.”

“Hah. I don’t feel like it, a lot of the time.”

“Eh, neither does anyone else. If it helps, you can talk to me about it. That offer is literally always on the table. Let’s get our meal and you can tell me all about it.”

The two found their meals and a nice spot to eat them before Carter went into the story in earnest. But he did tell her everything he could even think to mention. All of the information he was gathering in his head and on paper. By the end of it, he thought Annie seemed just a bit overwhelmed, but he knew she was a sharp one and could follow even his demented ramblings.

She smiled when he stopped talking. “It sounds like you already have your decision made.”

He shook his head. “Sure, I know what I want it to be. That doesn’t mean it’s the best decision.”

Annie groaned. “Stop being so mature and just trust your heart for once! You obviously want to let him keep it. So, do it. Give it to him. What’re you scared of?”

“Honestly? So many things, Annie.” He sighed. “What if by giving him the Miraculous, I’m ruining his life? His family isn’t the same as mine. I’m not sure he’d tell them, and if he does there’s no telling how they’ll react and if he doesn’t he’ll be hiding it and operating in secret. And then, even if I feel he’s good now, how can I be sure I’m not giving a Miraculous to the next Hawk Moth?”

“Hawk Moth?”

He shook his head, waving the question off. “Paris. France, Paris, I mean, not Texas. There’s like four of them and they’ve taken sides against each other. Heard about it from an aspiring journalist.”

“What do you mean they’ve taken sides?”

“Like, they’re fighting each other. The guardian is hidden mostly, but there’s two keepers calling themselves heroes fighting against a third keeper – Hawk Moth.”

Annie frowned. “Keepers… fighting each other? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“When you study enough history, no violence seems unrealistic.”

“Wow. Dour.”

“Sorry. I’m just… I don’t know what to do.”

“Do you really think Avery could end up fighting against you?”

Carter worried his lip. “I’d like to think he wouldn’t. But the fact of the matter is I’ve only been talking to him for like a week.”

“Well we’ve talked what, four or five times now?”

“Arrel and my mentor like to remind me that I tend to see the good in people.”

Annie shook her head. “Look, you came to me for advice, right? I’ll give it to you straight. You want this kid to be a keeper. Let him. You can’t just slam doors because there might be something scary behind them. You’d never get anywhere that way. And if having a keeper turn is a real concern for you, then just watch over him. Teach him so that he doesn’t do that.”

Carter took her hand in his and squeezed it gently. “You have more faith in me than I do if you think I should be trusted with that kind of responsibility.”

“Carter, pretty much everyone who knows you has more faith in you than you have in yourself. Instead of fighting it, why don’t you just take it as an indication of something?”

He laughed. “Fair enough, Annie. I’ll just trust your judgement.”

“So, you’ll let him keep the Miraculous?”

“Yeah. I’ll let him keep it. But first thing’s first he’s meeting my mentor. She’s going to be the real teacher here.”


	3. The International Association of Magical Entities

The look that his mentor gave him as he walked into her shop that morning betrayed her. It was a knowing smile. The one she wore whenever she was ten steps ahead of him and saw that he had finally caught up. (It was a pretty common look, actually.)

Seeing this, Carter didn’t even bother saying anything. He just sighed and set his bag down. He flopped into the massive chair and sunk so deep he felt like it would swallow him. With a groan, he closed his eyes.

“Well?” His mentor’s gentle voice was only muffled by the stuffy atmosphere, but that word was still enough to make Carter respond.

“I think Avery should be allowed to keep the Miraculous, and its kwami that chose him.”

“Okay then.”

Her tone bordered on sing-song. Carter sat up straight and looked over to her. “That’s it?”

She chuckled. “It being your mission wouldn’t mean much if I were to simply ignore your decision now, would it?”

“Yeah but what about your opinion?”

“I have none. To make one wouldn’t matter. I will admit I’ll be happy to have another student, though. Gives an old woman purpose.” Carter just smiled and shook his head. _Typical of her. She really does have a lot of faith in me. Sometimes I feel like it’s only a matter of time before-_ “When would you recommend we begin his training?”

“Well he’s… kind of a skeptic.” Carter pulled at his collar. “And we’d still need to find a way to fully wake up the kwami, or at least get it to a state where they could acknowledge each other… off the top of my head, I’d say after we introduce him to magic, and give him enough time to get used to the idea. How long that takes is up to him.”

“How would we best introduce our skeptic to magic, then?”

“With proof. Without a way to reliably summon his kwami, Arrel will have to do to convince him of what we’re even talking about. With a chat and maybe some prodding, I’m sure he’ll at least be willing to entertain the idea. Um, at worst I could ask Annie or someone at the Cradle to demonstrate some more flashy magic. Or I could transform; Arrel’s magic alone might even work. There’s not exactly a lack of options, I’m just not sure what would be easiest for him.” Carter sighed, fiddling with the tie that hung loosely around his neck. “My plan was kind of to just show him the transformation. You know I visited him while transformed. I was thinking of doing that again, and then detransforming and introducing him to Arrel. Give him the week, or until he says he’s ready and start training.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t exactly complicated when I did it, was it?”

“No.” She inclined her head. “I think it’s a good plan. Just let me know when I need to start setting the table for three.”

“Will do.” He pulled the tie free. “Will you help me with this?”

“Of course, child.” She took the tie from his hands and folded it up, placing it carefully in his bag.

He sighed in exasperation. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Stand up.” He rolled his eyes, but stood. She unbuttoned his collar and one extra and fiddled with his Miraculous so that it was visible. She grabbed it firmly and held it up. “This gives you more power than a silly tie. Don’t hide it.” With one last bit of fussing with his clothes, and a bit with his hair, she was satisfied and stepped back. “Straighten your back.” He did. “Chin up.” He obliged. “Arms at your sides.” He hadn’t even noticed he was playing with his own fingers. He stopped and did what she asked. “There. You’re ready.”

_It’ll take a lot more than proper posture to be ready for this._

“You always doubt yourself when we visit IAME,” she said. “I know it’s difficult for you, but I wouldn’t ask this of you if you weren’t ready.”

Carter chuckled weakly, examining himself in a mirror. “I know people who would say I always doubt myself.”

His mentor was clearly amused. “They’re not wrong. Still, you rarely hesitate when I give you a task to do.”

“That’s just because I know you wouldn’t make me do it if I wasn’t ready.”

“But IAME?”

He ran a hand through his hair, mussing it. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just not a politician.”

“You don’t need to be. You’re there because you’re an expert on magic.”

“I’m there because _you’re_ an expert on magic. And anyway, why do they even need a mediator? Much less a high school kid. Neither side is going to even take me seriously.”

She hummed. “Perhaps not. But if you wish to help them, you will have to make them take you seriously. Without you, they have no reason to remain civil.”

“Except jail?”

“Civil, Carter. There are so many ways to come to conflict without breaking any laws.”

“You don’t honestly believe that they don’t want this resolved probably more than I do.”

“Exactly the reason you need to be there. You must hold them back. Keep them from doing something hasty.”

“Is this leading into another lecture on my principle?”

He shrunk a little at the stern look she gave him. “I’m pretty sure there’s nothing I could tell you at the moment about patience that you haven’t already heard.”

“Ain’t that the truth.”

It was Arrel that chastised him for that comment rather than his mentor, though Carter wasn’t sure whether he was really surprised by that. “Carter!” The kwami said.

“Sorry.” He mumbled.

“Don’t misunderstand,” his mentor said, “there’s still much more for you to learn about your principle. Just not yet.”

“Which is itself a test of- I’ll be quiet now.” Carter bit his lip and swallowed his words at Arrel’s disapproving gaze.

His mentor chuckled. “No, you’re right. As one who’s principle is patience, you must show some to learn everything you can.”

“So, if my principle were instead, say, liminality?”

“A certain measure of patience would still be required of course, but yes, Avery’s tutelage will be different in some ways than yours has been. Not the least of which is most likely a bit faster progression, come a certain point. Though that is also in part due to having you helping him along in addition to me.”

“I see.”

“Not to mention,” his mentor smiled affectionately at him, “he’s not you. I’d be a poor teacher if I expected him to learn the same ways you have.”

“You’d be a public school teacher,” Carter said, smirking.

Arrel exclaimed again. “Carter!”

“What? I mean, that one is totally true isn’t it?”

“You don’t have to say it like that, though.”

Their bickering was cut short by his mentor’s laughter. “You two really are a great match, aren’t you?” Carter exchanged a look with Arrel. “Come, we should get to IAME soon.” She strode past them to the door, calling over her shoulder. “Cynthia, dear, we’re heading out!” As she passed, she winked at Carter. “And for the record, I would be public school system. Don’t blame the teachers.”

“I don’t, don’t worry.”

Cynthia, the girl who worked for his mentor, doing most of the work around the small little hole-in-the-wall store came out of the back looking flustered. _She’s probably doing a thousand things at once, like always._ “Oh, okay. I’ll hold down the fort, don’t you worry. Good to see you, Carter.”

“You too.” He gave her a nod before following his mentor out. He always thought her funny, mostly just because her last name was Carter. _I used to joke about it being a requirement for my mentor. I… well I hope it isn’t Avery’s middle name or something. That would just be scary._ He shook his head and got in the car.

* * *

 

Carter worried his lip as he stared up at the cookie-cutter letters over the door. _International Association of Magical Entities in San Antonio. Sometimes I wish the magic worked on me. God, what is this building to muggles again?_ His mentor’s hand on his back reminded him to stand up straight. He took a deep breath. _Yikes._

Inside, his footsteps echoed off of the polished linoleum. People rushed all around, but he felt eyes on him. It took only a few seconds for him to identify a woman on a bench to his left, a group of middle-aged men further into the building, all muttering to each other like they were planning something, a few high-school or college students to his right, following a young man who was also staring, and no fewer than three of the five receptionists at the various booths who all had their eyes on him. Arrel stirred in his shirt, pressing gently at the base of his neck. Carter knew it was so that he knew that Arrel was still there, that he was at his side.

_Doesn’t help, though._ “Carter.” His eyes snapped up to his mentor’s. “You know where you need to be.”

“Uh, yeah… yeah. I’ll… you go do what you need to. I’ll be fine.”

“Yes, you will. I’ll see you in the conference room.”

With that, she glided off into the building, taking care of some business Carter would probably never even hear of again. “Okay,” he said. “Okay, I’ve got this.” He approached one of the free receptionists. “Hi. I’m here for-”

“You’re the keeper. Of course. Allow me to just…” He opened a file and sorted through the contents until he found a name tag. “Here. Room one-eighteen, just down that hall.”

Carter took the tag and looked to where the man pointed. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

He set off, but the room seemed to grow as he walked. As it did, it filled with more people staring at him, following him. The fluorescent light glare off the linoleum distracted him, like it was somehow not supposed to be so bright. The dark wood that the desks and wall accents were made of seemed just a shade different than the last time he was there. It wasn’t a foreboding or anxiety that gnawed at him, but a sense of unease, of not belonging. The only thing keeping him focused was the small warmth at his nape.

“Hi!” He froze, pausing to examine the dark hair, long lashes, a dashing smile of the boy who approached him. “Rhys Evans. I’m an intern.”

Carter hummed. “Nice to meet you. I’m Carter. Wroden.”

Rhys grinned sheepishly. “Uh, yeah. I know. You’re the mediator on the conference about the housing at the edge of the city, right? I work for one of the IAME guys in there. I got to say, it’s so cool that you’re doing this. I mean, I do kind of feel a little like ‘what am I doing with my life’ right, but it’s still so cool that you can do stuff like this.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean you’re like in high school! Granted, I’m just out but like, I’m an intern and you’re already making your mark, you know?”

Carter chuckled. “It’s not that impressive.”

“You kidding? I’ve heard a lot about keepers but I didn’t expect one to be younger than me and already doing stuff like this.”

“Well…” Carter sighed. “It doesn’t matter how old you are. My mentor taught me how to be where I am. That’s all. And not everyone would consider my position a good thing.”

“Yeah, well.” Rhys scratched at the back of his head. “You’re doing what I joined here to do, so…”

“What’s that?”

He shrugged. “Helping people? A, uh, friend of a friend, I guess. You helped him. And here, you’re making sure those dryads have a home.”

“Well, don’t give me credit for something I haven’t done yet. I’m just here to make sure they sort through everything civilly.”

“Knowing my boss…”

“Who is it? This friend of a friend that I’ve helped?”

“Uh… Matthew? Taylor?” Carter furrowed his brow as he tried to recall the name. “You might not remember him. He’s just a kid, only like ten.”

“Oh! The little were?”

“Yeah! My friend knows his aunt.”

“Edith?”

“That’s her! I heard all about how you helped them.”

Carter shook his head. “No, all I did was give the kid a meal. And her some advice, I guess.”

“Sometimes, that’s what it takes. It made a difference to them.”

“Well… I’m glad. I hope they’re doing alright.”

“Just great. But dude, I have to ask. What’s it like being taught by her? And uh, does she actually have a name, or?”

Carter chuckled. “Ah, well, she’s a great teacher. And yes, though what you’re looking for is not going to be very satisfying.”

“No?”

“No. You don’t know much about her, do you?”

“Little to nothing, dude. I couldn’t even figure out what she is.”

“Yeah, I figured. They keep to themselves, for the most part. As for her name, it’s her job. In her culture, names are occupations. So, she’s my mentor. That is her name. Or teacher, if you prefer.”

“So… what exactly is she?”

“Call it a secret of the trade. Sorry, I’m not supposed to say.”

“Aw man. Well, I get it. Some of us like our secrets. What about the Miraculous? I’ve only read about it. Is it true tha-”

“Mr. Wroden.” A middle-aged man extended his hand with a smile on his face. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Wouldn’t miss it.” He took the man’s hand, shaking firmly.

“Mr. Evans, why don’t you go… file that report, eh?”

“Report? What repor- oh… okay. Right. I’m being… I’m being told to go away. I’ll, uh, see you in the conference room, yeah? I get to sit in, isn’t that so cool?”

“Mr. Evans.”

“Leaving now, sir. Carter.”

Carter nodded to him. Only after Rhys left did the man let go of Carter’s hand. He pulled the hand closer to him, rubbing his palm idly with his other thumb. “Mr. Wroden, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Councilor Scott Brown. I’m sure you know how important this district will be to us.”

Carter smiled and nodded. “Important enough that you’re calling me in to facilitate things.”

“Quite. But I know that even for a brilliant young man like you, politics can’t be of particular interest. I think it would be mutually beneficial if this went as quickly as possible.”

“I think that things going quickly is often not the best solution. Especially when the situation is one needing a compromise.”

The man nodded. “Of course. But I know you would much rather go out with your friends, yes? Enjoy a night out, no concerns for cost?”

Carter actually had to take a step back. “Councilor, are you… trying to bribe me?”

The councilor smiled. “Of course not, dear boy. I’m simply saying that if you play your cards right, we can all go home early.”

“Well, thing is, Councilor Brown, I’m still the mediator. You’re questioning me because of my age, yeah? You think I’d rather be anywhere else. Well, you’re not exactly wrong, but here’s the problem. I’m seventeen. Not even old enough to vote.”

“Exactly. I’m sure you have no interest in politics.”

“You know what this Miraculous represents, don’t you, Councilor?” Carter smiled as innocently as he could. “It’s patience. We call it my principle. It’s a fundamental idea that is tied with the kwami and the stone itself. As the keeper, it’s my job to represent it as well. Now, I’m not perfect. I lose my temper, I get short with people. That’s true. But I have learned through all this training something pretty important about patience. When people move too fast, they lose sight of the things around them. For instance, in your haste to point out how young I am, you forgot that when you’re up for reelection next year, I’ll be eighteen. Sure, I’m not old enough to vote, yet, but come next election I will be.

“So, don’t think that I don’t know that if this housing district is built, and non-magic folk fill the place the dryads used to occupy, that will shift the vote in that district in your party’s favor.” The councilor seemed a bit taken aback. “Now, you are right in that I’d rather not play politics. But don’t assume I don’t know how.” Carter smiled. “Pleasure chatting with you, Councilor.”

As he walked off towards the conference room, he spotted Rhys, slack-jawed, staring at him. Feeling confident, Carter gave Rhys a wink and a grin as he passed. But, by the time he reached the end of the hall, and the room he needed to be at, he had to steel his nerves once more. He hesitated just a moment before touching the doorknob, and had to take a deep breath. With one last furtive glance around, catching no less than three pairs of eyes on him with only that, he opened the door and crossed the threshold.

The room was large, but much more comfortable in Carter’s mind than the massive, spacious lobby. Only the people in the room threw off the immaculate positioning of the table and chairs and those people were on clear sides, with the politicians of IAME further into the room at the end of the table, and the dryad representatives closer to where Carter stood.

“You are receiving fair compensation for your land. We’re not doing anything outside of our legal power.”

“Your right to take our property does not override our right to life! Developing our land will kill us!”

Carter sighed. “Okay, everyone.” He had to work a little to make sure everyone could hear him clearly, but he had plenty of practice with speaking and was able to summon everyone’s attention quickly. “Y’all are clearly very eager to get started, but why don’t we sit back for just a moment and allow time for everyone else to arrive, yeah? We’re not supposed to start for another,” he checked his watch, “ten minutes.”

_Back straight._ He focused on his posture as he strode to his place at the center of the table. _Keep that smile. Just look like you know what you’re doing._

“Keeper. I’m so glad you’re here.” The tall, imposing man who seemed to be head of the dryad representatives put Carter a bit at ease with a friendly smile and an eager handshake. He had such a frame and such a face that when he was angry, as Carter saw as he entered the room, he was quite intimidating. The amiable demeanor did a lot for Carter’s nerves, even though he was still cautious and very much aware that the man was as likely to vie for Carter’s favor as Councilor Brown was. “I’m Lucas Black, here to represent the position of the magical beings already living in the area in question.”

“Black…” Carter furrowed his brow. “That name sounds familiar. Have we met?”

“No, unfortunately. You may have heard of me in your research for this. I’m one of the co-founders of Queer Spirits.

“Right. Weren’t you one of the people trying to make last summer’s pride parade accessible by magical folk?”

“Yes, sir. We have too many LGBTQ people in the magical community who are too afraid to join their non-magic community because of what they are. We felt that the spirit of the LGBTQ community was too important to people to leave those folk displaced, so we did our best to give the magical LGBTQ community a chance to be heard, on the largest platform we could provide.”

Carter nodded. “Well, as someone who is definitely queer and arguably part of the magical community as well, I’d like to thank you. When I heard about our own little pride I was super eager to join in.”

“Did you manage to make it out?”

“Unfortunately, not this year. Had no free time that weekend.”

“That’s a shame, you’d be welcome.”

“I appreciate that.”

Carter saw the other head representative, a stout and imposing middle-aged man, standing patiently off to his other side, so he wrapped up the quick chat to give him a short talk as well.

“Mr. Wroden. My name is Gregory Macer. I’ll be representing the International Association of Magical Entities in San Antonio, and the city council.”

“Councilor Macer. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“And you as well, Keeper. I’ve heard great things about your order, and you in particular. I’m sure with you here we will be able to resolve this in no time.”

“We’ll have to see how it goes Councilor. I’ll certainly do my best to guide this to a peaceful conclusion.”

The councilor chuckled. “Well, I’m sure you don’t want to get into the debate before we start. I do have an unrelated question, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.”

“I received notice earlier this week that another Miraculous was recovered, and you’re considering a new keeper to take care of it?”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Surely you know that all Miraculous are registered with IAME.”

“Of course, I just wasn’t aware that a Councilor such as yourself would follow that so closely.” He shook his head. “Uh, yeah. We have someone in mind, but they haven’t bonded with the kwami yet. My mentor and I are beginning preparations for their training.”

The Councilor hummed. “I wouldn’t think another keeper would be terribly necessary.”

“As you know, the keepers are an old order.” Carter shrugged. “There’s not many of us active anymore. These days, choosing new keepers is very important, lest we lose our secrets entirely. Even my mentor isn’t actually a keeper herself, as teachers of keepers traditionally are.”

“Self-preservation, then?”

“To an extent. But we’re protecting much more than ourselves. The magical community is underground. There’s no decent education system to teach us of magic and the specific needs magical beings have, and even the way their bodies work. Often, we can’t even turn to the internet for that kind of information, since there’s almost no way to tell between myths conjured by the non-magic community and real facts given by people who study it. I won’t pretend that I have the most efficient dispersal method, but at least the information that us keepers have access to is helping people.

“Of course, your organization has most of that information as well. You just don’t have the resources necessary to spread it. As you know, I’m sure, I’m acting in the traditional role of the keeper. It’s a bit slow for the modern age, but it’s what I’m capable of with the resources and information at my disposal. A second keeper in a similar role will be only a good thing for the magical community in San Antonio.”

The Councilor nodded. “It seems your job will only be finished when our community can come out of the shadows and access the proper resources to educate our youth.”

“It seems so.” Carter agreed. “I certainly hope, Councilor, that the day comes where my traditional purpose is obsolete.”

“I imagine you would make an excellent teacher in that future first magical school.”

“If such a thing happens in my lifetime, I would jump at the chance to teach there.”

The Councilor had a twinkle in his eye as he stepped back to take his seat once more. “Then it seems it falls to me and mine to make sure that happens.”

Carter smiled and nodded. _But, seriously or like a “hey boy I’m in a position of power and maybe if things go my way here I’ll pull some strings”. Not likely, in any case. A school of the kind we’re talking is impossible while still minimizing our presence to the muggles. Small underground classrooms are about as good as it’s going to get until something is done about that._

_It’s hard sometimes to imagine how such an expansive community stays hidden but… we don’t trust each other. Even them._ He eyed a few people, on both sides, who were guarded and wary, not from the other side, but from him. _Because I’m non-magic. And confirmation bias and IAME memory magic make up for what the mistrust of outside groups – of oppressive groups, let’s face it – lets slip past. And we stay underground even today._

He waved to Rhys when he walked in, following Councilor Brown, and offered a smile. _I still don’t get it sometimes. Maybe magic is just so ordinary to me by now, or maybe it’s just of a more conservative thing. I understand fearing those with more power than you, but even with magic, when has this community ever had more power? More rightly, they’re afraid of us. Though that only leads to more problems._

_But I’m not going to change that. No matter how anime my position is, as Ella says, one keeper is not going to broker peace between magic and non-magic people. Honestly, even if it would be a good thing, the thought that I would even be capable of that is a bit frightening. Or a lot, actually._

_I can help here, though. I hope._ He checked his watch. _Just about time._ He counted the people present. _All accounted for, except my mentor. She’d expect us to start without her if she’s late._

As the second hand of the clock ticked towards the next minute, the room quieted. Instead of chatting with each other, both sides turned to their notes and their pens and to murmurs about plans and strategies.

He waited for a while even after the clock struck the hour, hoping his mentor would show up. Representatives looked to the door, no doubt with the same thought or perhaps with apprehension instead of hope. Faces showed bewilderment, concern, impatience. More turned to him, switching between him and their watches. He did his best not to show any concern.

_Come on._ Someone tapped their pen on the table.

_You’re not waiting for her because you need her. You’re just being courteous._ A woman coughed.

His skin crawled. The eyes on him felt insidious, judging. _He’s a child, of course he can’t handle it on his own._ Someone’s bouncing knee bumped the table. _He’s scared. This will be easy._ “Alright, everyone. Let’s get started.”

There was no doubt that all eyes were on him, but then, at least, it felt appropriate. “As you all know,” he said, “plans have begun for housing development in district eight, near Helotes. The land slaked for development is currently home to a community of nature spirits, primarily dryads, many of whom have begun protesting to prevent these houses from being built. We’re here because we have all agreed to meet in good faith and work together to come to a conclusion to this problem.”

“Where’s your teacher?” One of the older IAME representatives asked.

“Yeah, I thought she’d be here.” Said one of the dryads.

Carter cleared his throat. He looked each of the speakers in the eyes in turn. “My mentor is clearly running a bit late. But we can’t put the entire meeting on hold for one person, especially one who is not representing either of this issues sides.”

“Maybe we should wait for her, anyway.”

“Or do this another day.”

Lucas Black didn’t stand, but his stature and voice made it seem as if he had. He commanded attention and quieted all dissent, even that of the IAME representatives. “Now, everyone. The keeper is our mediator anyway. I’m sure we can all start the talks without his teacher.”

“Uh, no.” One of the dryads scoffed. “His teacher’s one of us. He’s non-magic. This isn’t fair if we don’t have someone from both sides.”

Councilor Macer spoke next. “We agreed to have Mr. Wroden as the mediator. The mentor isn’t necessary.”

“Says you! You want to steal our homes and give them to the humans! Having a human mediate is practically signing them over to you!”

Voices rose and people stood and they postured and yelled. “Hey, calm down.” Carter said, but no one seemed to hear him. He stood. “Stop. Hey, that’s enough!” He tried very hard to project his voice enough to grab everyone’s attention again without yelling. Luckily, he managed to pull it off without losing too much face, he hoped. He leaned in, putting his hands on the table. His Miraculous hung free from his neck, falling forward enough so that it was unobstructed by his shirt. “If you can’t talk for half a minute without devolving into this ridiculous shouting match, then you can leave. We will carry out this discussion without you.” He looked over each side. Most of them seemed dismissive, Rhys appeared embarrassed (though Carter did see that he was not participating in the argument), Lucas and Councilor Macer seemed surprised, not altogether impressed, but there were hints of wariness.

“No one?” Everyone was quiet for another moment. “Then I expect you all to act like the adults you are and speak respectfully.”

“What does it matter if the whole thing’s rigged?”

“I’m here to make sure that we can conduct this talk with civility and to ensure there’s no deception. If you already don’t trust me, then there’s no point in remaining. Again, we will continue without you, if you can’t or won’t participate.” The dryad appeared to want to say something else, so Carter addressed the whole room. “All of you agreed to bring me in, on my authority as a keeper. If you’ve reconsidered that stance, then I’m sorry, but I am still going to do my job. We’re here to discuss housing, and every moment we’re wasting arguing something that was agreed upon weeks in advance, is one where we’re making no progress on the topic at hand. Now, can we begin, or is there something else?”

He felt Arrel, hidden in his shirt (though there was no real reason to stay hidden, Carter assumed it was to prevent everyone from turning to him rather than Carter for the mediating role), pat him gently. Lucas and Councilor Macer smiled, Councilor Brown and the dryad who spoke frowned. Rhys gave him a subtle thumbs-up under the table.

“Yes,” Lucas said. “I agree. Let’s begin. If I may start?”

Carter nodded his approval and sat, allowing Lucas to stand instead. As Lucas began to describe his position and his concerns, Carter took notes and observed carefully. _He’s a very good orator. I might learn something just from that._ Occasionally, he had to interrupt to confirm or, more rarely, correct a fact, but things moved relatively swiftly from there, and Councilor Macer spoke next on IAME’s position and to address a few of the concerns.

The conversation dragged. All the major representatives spoke their piece, IAME did a very good job of countering the dryads’ concerns, the dryads were not convinced. A few hours in and no one had budged and they were no closer to a conclusion and Carter’s mentor was still not present.

He had long since given up hoping she’d show. By thirty minutes in, she’d surely just find something else to do rather than walk in and interrupt. She trusted him to do the job, anyway. Her being there was mostly just a formality. He was sure she was busying herself with something, just as he was sure that something out of her control had stalled her for so long in the first place.

“Look, even if they wanted to give up their land, displacing a nature spirit will kill them.” Lucas said, calmly.

“Our researchers assure us that that is not the case. It’s only a misconception.” Councilor Macer said.

“We’re dryads!” One of the dryad representatives said. “We know!”

“Well, Mr. Wroden? You study magical entities.”

Carter sighed. “IAME researchers never conducted verifiable experiments on the lifespan of nature spirits removed from their anchor. Their study was primarily on the subject of the health of the spirit relative to their distance from their anchor. The only study I know of on lifespan was done by Dr. Mengele during World War II, and the best estimate based on that is that spirits will live for a few months without finding a new one. That’s maximum. Given the projected timescale of development, and the difficulty of making or bonding to a new anchor, without assistance I would have to assume that the large majority of the spirits would die.”

The Councilor hummed and furrowed his brow, double and triple-checking his notes. One of the other IAME representatives squawked, “but surely we can’t use data from Dr. Mengele. The man was a monster.”

“Yes,” Carter agreed, “but data is data. No one is pretending that this data was acquired humanely. And anyway, Dr. Hawthorne’s research on nature spirit anchors concluded that it takes about a month for dryads to bond to new ones. And that’s not even starting on the leimakides, who may have a much harder time finding another anchor in the first place.”

The IAME representatives muttered among themselves. One of the dryads spoke up. “See? We told you over and over again. Taking our land will kill us, just compensation or not.”

“Perhaps we could slow development. We’ll need to recalculate our timescale.”

Lucas grinned broadly. “Keeper. If the decision fell to you on how to build these homes, how would you do it?”

Carter blinked in surprise. Everyone else seemed willing to listen, which was by then probably more surprising to him than the question, but since no one objected, he considered his answer. “Well, the best way I can think of to do it would be to coordinate with the local nature spirits. Move anchors as little as possible, and make the housing built there as accessible to the nature spirits as possible, so that any who don’t mind the lifestyle can simply move into a home. At least a good portion of those who don’t want to live that way could, with assistance and with their cooperation, be moved so that their anchors aren’t in the way of construction, but they should still be able to live on the same land, provided their neighbors don’t mind. Otherwise, there’s a pretty large space just north of the construction site that could accommodate some.” Carter hummed. “It’d be a bit of a juggle, but I think the simplest way would be for a support system for the nature spirits to be implemented. Volunteers and specialists who can help nature spirits shift anchors, uh, financial support for spirits who want to live in those houses, and help getting jobs, obviously, so that they can survive without the government’s money.”

“A pretty ideal, but IAME-SA simply doesn’t have the funding to pull that off.” Said Councilor Brown.

“Well, they do.” Carter said. “I mean, not all of it, no.” He turned to Lucas, “But if we get volunteers like I said, from Q.S. or other activists or even just locals, then IAME wouldn’t need to fund a campaign to relocate all the spirits. So long as they work together, the only funds IAME would need to worry about are temporary housing and assistance with employment. In fact, there’s groups already working on helping magical entities find employment. IAME would only need to pay their fees, no worries about coordinating that, either. All in all, I’d need to do some calculations, but if I’m remembering the IAME-SA budget correctly it should be entirely feasible.”

Everyone muttered among their teams for a while. Carter desperately resisted the urge to backtrack with a “Not that that’s what you need to do. I’m not an economist or a… anything else really.” _You’re not wrong. They can either accept your idea or not. They asked. You never told them they need to do it. You don’t even have that authority so who cares even if you did._

One of the people one IAME’s side was furiously typing in her calculator and scribbling on a pad. After many long minutes, she leaned over and whispered into the ear of the representative next to her. The IAME people played telephone until the message reached Councilor Macer in the center, and he pursed his lips and nodded.

Seeing this, Lucas leaned forward in his chair. “We’d obviously need to iron out details, but if the keeper’s idea is acceptable for IAME, then we’d agree to stop the protest.”

The Councilor continued considering for a moment.

“Like hell!” One of the dryads shouted. “That land is my home! I’m not giving it up to the humans.”

Carter watched Lucas carefully, assured by the firm look on his face that he wouldn’t need to intervene. “Now, Ginger. Understand that to not budge unless they don’t take your land at all is not a compromise. We didn’t come here and debate for hours to deliver an ultimatum, did we? I think the keeper’s solution is quite fair. Remember that the government does have a right to take your land for development purposes. It’s a much bigger thing than what we’re doing here if you want to change that.”

Ginger pouted, but caved, begrudgingly, to Lucas’ argument.

Not long after, however, Carter saw for the umpteenth time just how similar the two sides were. “Of course we can’t accept those terms!” Councilor Brown exclaimed. “It’s ridiculous!”

“Now, now.” Councilor Macer stood, looking down on the other councilor. “Don’t be contrary, Councilor. What is that money for if not to help the people?” He met Carter’s eyes and froze him in place with the look. Carter wasn’t sure what it was about it, since by all accounts the councilor seemed perfectly ordinary, happy even, but Carter felt like he wouldn’t like what happened next. “And Mr. Black has a point. We should not have agreed to this if we didn’t expect to compromise. We could make Mr. Wroden’s plan happen, and I, for one, would be happy to.”

Carter gulped. He was wary, guarded, because he felt that accepting his idea was in some way the Councilor saying “a favor for a favor, Mr. Wroden. Watch for my call when I collect on this.”

_You’ve got too vivid an imagination. Been sitting here too long._

Once murmurs of agreement, enthusiastic and resentful alike, quieted, Lucas asked, “Is that it, then, are we agreed?”

“Yes, Mr. Black. I believe we are.”

“Let’s put it to paper, then.”

Naturally, just drawing up the agreement took another hour and a half, but it wasn’t altogether that bad. And soon enough, the meeting was adjourned, and Carter was patiently awaiting the moment he could step out of the frying pan and just take a deep breath.

“Keeper!” Lucas hardly even waited for him to turn before grabbing his hand and shaking it vigorously. “Thank you. You did a wonderful job.” He laughed. “I can’t believe how sharp you are. I heard that keepers were smart but I have to admit I underestimated you. You knew their budget better than they did.”

Carter chuckled sheepishly. “I just did my research. I had to think of a lot of different solutions to this and the logistics involved.”

“Well, you impressed me. Have you ever considered joining a group like ours? Or not much of an activist?”

“Hah, neither, really. I like to get out to events and stuff when I can but I never thought to join any particular group. Never thought it particularly appropriate.”

“Appropriate?”

“Well, you know. Since I’m a keeper. I can’t join a non-magic group and ignore y’all, can’t join a magic group because I’m not magic.”

Lucas frowned. “Hey, that’s no way to think. Queer Spirits is all about inclusivity. We’d be happy to have you, magic or no.” He chuckled a bit awkwardly. “Oh, and no matter your sexuality, gender, the rest. Everyone’s welcome.”

Carter smiled. “Yeah, well, thank you. I’ll have to think about it. I’ve got quite a bit to do anyway, so I’d have to consider whether I’d be able to keep with another commitment like that.”

“I totally understand. Being a keeper and going to school must be quite the job.”

“I make it work.”

Lucas gathered his things. “Well, thank you again, for mediating, and let’s be real, for solving it. I hope we see each other again.”

Carter nodded. “Just doing my job. And I hope so, too.”

He turned to gather his own things and saw Councilor Macer once again waiting patiently. “Mr. Wroden. You’re a clever boy.”

“Uh, thank you?”

The councilor gave him a meaningful smile and nod. “Truly, it was a pleasure to see you at work.”

“Thank you, sir.”

He chuckled and turned away. “Must get back to work. I’m sure we’ll see each other soon.”

“Hope so, sir.”

_Somehow much more sinister than when Lucas did it. Which for some reason only makes me suspicious of Lucas. Politics._ He shook his head, fixing his notepad and slipping it into his bag.

“Carter, dude.”

“Hey, Rhys. No work to do?”

“Oh loads, I just thought I’d say bye first.” He shook his head. “You, my dude, are something else.”

Since it was coming from someone much more his peer, Carter relaxed a little, and let himself feel proud of the reaction he got. “Yeah?”

“Uh, yeah! I can’t believe you’re still in freaking high school. How do you find time to study magic, school, and government on top of that? Sheesh.”

“This is all part of the keeper’s duty, so research for this kind of overlapped with magic studies.” Carter shrugged. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s the job. I just want to be a good keeper.”

“Well, you are. We have got to meet up sometime when we’re not stuck in a meeting.” Rhys grinned enthusiastically. “Like, I don’t know, dinner or something.”

Carter hesitated a little. “Huh? Uh…”

“Wait. Okay, so I realize now how that sounded.”

Carter started laughing.

“Look you’re cute and all but I’m pretty sure that’s illegal so…”

“Oh my god, Rhys just stop.”

“Yeah that’s… yeah.”

“I would be happy to meet up sometime.”

“As friends.”

“Hopefully.”

“Okay, good. Here’s my phone. Put in your number while I remove my foot from my mouth.”

“How old are you, anyway?”

“Nineteen, bro. First semester in college and it is an experience.”

“I bet.” He handed the phone back.

“Yeah. I really need to get to work, though. See you later. Thanks.”

“Later.”

He chuckled and shook his head as Rhys took off into the hallway. _Well, he’s going to be fun._ With no more distractions, Carter finished putting everything away and finally left the room himself.

Of course, his mentor was standing in the hallway right next to the door. “Well, hi.” He said.

“Good job.” She said. “You did well.”

“I thought you were going to be in there.”

“Yes, I’m sorry. My business took longer than I thought, and it was far too late by the time I got free.”

“Oh, what were you doing?”

She paused, and then smiled down at him, gripping his shoulder firmly and guiding him down the hallway. “I was taking advantage of IAME resources, while I had the chance.”

“To do what?”

“Investigate the guardian active in Paris, of course.”

Carter frowned. “Did they do something? I thought they were under the radar for decades now.”

“You mean, aside from choose two new keepers?”

“The keepers of creation and destruction are no newer than I am. Granted, I wasn’t aware of their situation until Chase talked to me, but we both knew they were active.”

His mentor huffed in a way quite unlike her. Her frustration was obvious in her tone. “And yet, their situation is more telling than you know.” She ushered him out of the IAME building and into the street. “Think about what those two are doing versus what you are.”

Carter worried his lip for a moment. “Well, Chase said that Hawk Moth is trying to steal the Miraculous. Given the nature of the akuma attacks as the medium through which to do so, it does make sense for them to be fighting superhero style. I know a keeper’s purpose is non-violent, but we are armed. Some of us in unconventional ways, but still. With our magic and power, and a chosen weapon? It’s hard to imagine we never served some sort of defensive role at least.”

His mentor hummed. “Well reasoned.”

“Otherwise, as much as it does seem odd, keepers are human, so it only makes sense that we wouldn’t always be on the same side.”

“But,” his mentor said, “what is the fundamental error on the guardian’s part?”

“You can’t blame them for a Miraculous falling into the wrong hands. We don’t even know if it’s one that’s supposed to be in their care.”

“Not that, Carter. If the keeper’s goal is to steal more Miraculous, and the guardian has been hidden for many years, why choose new keepers?”

“And make them targets?”

“Precisely. If a keeper chosen can’t perform their duties, the propagation of your order is meaningless. And worse, to knowingly put children in the line of fire, to rest the protection of their city upon their shoulders,” she shook her head. “I’d like to believe that the guardian has their reasons, but at the moment, I can’t see them.”

“Maybe they weren’t as hidden as we thought? If they suspected that Hawk Moth knew about them, giving the Miraculous to keepers, especially if the Miraculous of creation and destruction in particular were sought, would make sense. Of course, I agree that in that situation it would be better to choose someone older, but we are usually chosen as teenagers.”

“I did consider that. I don’t believe it, but I did consider it. But that isn’t the most concerning part about that situation. From what your friend said, I don’t think she or her contacts even know about the guardian.”

“Well, the guardian isn’t you. They’re not just a teacher, they also have to look after the rest of the Miraculous in their care.”

“If the guardian was already found, they have no reason to hide. If not, I fear they’re letting their duty to the Miraculous blind them to their duty to the keepers. I was looking into the keepers there. If the guardian is mentoring them at all, they have a very strange and ineffective way of doing so. No, I don’t think the keepers even know about the guardian.”

Carter furrowed his brow. “That… what? Maybe you’re giving them too little credit. It wouldn’t make any sense to hide from the keepers. If that’s true, they must have so many questions.”

His mentor nodded. “Probably more than your friend and her contacts, from what I’m seeing.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“At the moment, nothing. The keepers clearly have managed to get control of the situation, at least to the point of effectively treating the symptoms of the problem. You understand where we are, right?”

“So long as things are stable, it’s better for us to be patient and learn as much as we can about the situation.”

“Very good.”

“But some things can only be learned by jumping in.”

His mentor smiled and chuckled a little. “You’re such a smart kid.” She ruffled his hair. “Let me worry about Paris. You focus on your classmate. Can you do that?”

Carter shrugged. “To be perfectly honest, I just want to go on vacation to Paris.” His mentor laughed. He shook his head. “Yeah, I’ll focus on Avery. Let me know if I can help, though.”


End file.
